The Ashes 2023 witnessed a highly controversial incident during the fifth and final Test at the Oval, involving England’s ball change on Day 4. During the fifth and final Test at the Oval in The Ashes 2023, a highly controversial moment unfolded when England made a ball change on Day 4.
Several Australian players believed it was against the spirit of the game. The 36-over-old ball was replaced with a new one, but Australia raised concerns that the new ball was shinier and harder than it should be.
Day 4 of the final Ashes Test saw images of the original and new ball during the ball change
The ball change became a pivotal moment as Australia lost wickets rapidly and eventually suffered a 49-run defeat. According to the most recent report, Dukes, the ball manufacturer used in Test matches in England, is poised to conduct an investigation into the issue.
“I’m going to investigate myself, because it affects me … my name is at stake so it’s important they don’t misallege something wrong with the ball,” Dilip Jajodia, the owner of British Cricket Limited, the firm responsible for manufacturing the Dukes ball, stated this to Code Sports.
“I can’t imagine they would risk putting a ball in there with a different date on it,” the owner said, adding, “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. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s not likely.”
Following the ball-changing controversy that garnered significant attention and elicited comments from both former and current cricketers, the International Council issued a clarification regarding the process.
“The ICC does not comment on the decisions taken by umpires in matches. We can confirm that all balls are pre-selected before the start of every match. 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,” A statement from a representative of the international cricket governing body mentioned.
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