08 August 2023 , 15:52
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Surrey chiefs have branded an investigation into the ball used in the final Ashes Test as "ludicrous" amid speculation that it should not have been used.
Usman Khawaja and David Warner had put up a century together in Australia's opening batting partnership at Surrey's Oval ground. But late on Day Four, Khawaja was struck on the helmet following a bouncer from England fast bowler Mark Wood.
That led to umpires Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena opting to change the ball being used. They inspected a number of Dukes before selecting the one that would be used for the rest of the test, though it would prove to have a dramatic impact.
England were able to bowl Australia out on the final day, winning the test by 49 runs and levelling the series at 2-2. But amid protestations by Australia, Dilip Jajodia, the owner of Dukes Cricket Balls, vowed to launch an investigation into whether the ball was from a previous year's batch rather than the 2023 group.
“I can't imagine they would risk putting a ball in there with a different date on it. Frankly, the match referee should be on top of it. We do bang that number in quite hard, so even if the gold comes off, the ball is imprinted. It wouldn't be easy to get rid of it," he said.
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"I'm not saying it's impossible (that it was a 2018 or 2019 ball), but it's not likely. I'm going to investigate myself because it affects me. My name is at stake so it's important they don't misallege something was wrong with the ball.”
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Australia were unhappy with the new ball brought in late on day four (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)Surrey have now hit back at Jajodia and Australia, insisting that any suggestion that the ball was too old is outrageous. The county also made it clear that the choice of ball was totally at the umpires' discretion.
“Mr Jajodia is correct to say that Duke's balls are supplied to the Oval and to Surrey CCC ahead of the season for use in matches and training. These balls can also be used as match replacements, as seen during the Test," a Surrey spokesperson said.
“There were a wide selection of balls available to the umpires at all times, with a variety of conditions to choose from, and that decision is entirely at their discretion. We reject entirely the assertion that a ball from 2018 or 2019 could have been available for selection and think the suggestion itself is ludicrous.”
Khawaja has been vocal in his criticism of the umpires' decision to select the ball that they did. After the final test, he revealed that he had questioned the umpires about their move.
"I walked straight up to Kumar and said straight away, 'That ball is nothing like the one we've been playing with'. I could see writing on it. It felt harder than any ball I've faced throughout this whole Ashes series to be honest," he told cricket.com.au.
"I've opened the batting against the new ball every single time and it just hit my bat so hard. I know Woody was bowling, but I've faced Woody before. I said, 'You've gone from an old, reverse (swinging) ball to a brand-new ball'.
"It looked like it was about eight overs old, swinging conventionally and hitting the bat hard. So I actually asked Joel again today, 'How are we using this ball right now? It's so new.' And he said, 'Look, there was nothing else in the box'. Personally, I think if there's nothing else in the box that can match the ball you have, you can't really change it."