While the jury is out on whether the controversial decision to change the ball late into the fourth day’s play of 5th Test between England and Australia turned the contest on its head, the ICC has tried clarifying the issue.
After the ball clattered the helmet of Australia opener Usman Khawaja, the umpire deemed the ball was out of shape and called for a replacement before England won the fifth Test of Ashes 2023 with the series ending in a 2-2 draw.
As per MCC Laws, “If, during play, the ball…has become unfit for play through normal use, the umpires shall replace it with a ball which has had wear comparable with that which the previous ball had received before the need for its replacement.”
The replacement ball though looked much shinier than the 35-over old one which was deemed unfit. The visuals enraged Australia legends Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath with the former asking for an investigation.
The replacement ball was moving much more
Fox Sports quoted an ICC spokesperson says the balls are selected before the start of any match and the replacement balls are the ones that are closest to the condition of the ball being used.
“The ICC does not comment on the decisions taken by umpires in matches. We can, however, confirm that all balls are pre-selected before the start of every match and when the situation calls for it, the match officials choose the ball that is closest to the condition of the ball that is being replaced,” the spokesperson said.
Khawaja had expressed his displeasure.
“I walked straight up to Kumar (Dharmasena) and said straightaway, ‘That ball looks nothing like the one we were playing with. I can see writing on it’,” Khawaja told cricket.com.au after the match.
“It felt harder than any ball I‘ve faced in this Ashes series – and I’ve opened the batting against the new ball every single time. I said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on – you’ve gone from an old, reverse (swinging) ball to a brand-new ball’,” he added.
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