Ashes cricket 2023: Did new ball controversy rob Australia of epic series win over England in fifth Test?

Australia were left fuming after a controversial ball change swung the momentum of day five at the Oval – and ultimately led to them conceding the fifth Test in devastating circumstances.

It is the unanswerable question that could haunt this generation of Australian players forever: What if Usman Khawaja had not been hit on the helmet by Mark Wood midway through day four at The Oval?

In a series full of Sliding Doors moments, the bouncer from England’s genial and batty enforcer which struck the stolid Australian opener didn’t immediately seem significant, especially given Khawaja did not appear particularly rattled and batted on for the few minutes after the blow before weather halted and eventually ended the day’s play.

Yet it is what happened in the fine print that made all the difference. England, having sought to scuff the ball in a bid to get it reverse swinging, had been unable to do so. Indeed their tired and in some cases middle-aged attack was struggling to get the ball to do anything.

So they took the chance to try their luck with a different one from the ICC case of mystery.

After a few nervous moments earlier in the day, Khawaja and David Warner had looked assured. The runs were coming at well over three an over, and a target that started out looking highly unlikely appeared eminently scalable.

But then came the Dukes of hazard. The old ball was as straight as a government lotto supervisor. The new one was darting around sideways like it had skolled a dozen beers in the last half an hour.

Before the rain, Khawaja and Warner did not look like getting out. On Monday morning, Australia lost 3-29 against the nippy pill.

Once more, the summit looked remote. Travis Head and Steve Smith batted well together, but also rode some luck, playing and missing much more than they would have liked, and certainly much more than Khawaja and Warner had the previous day.

With overhead conditions doing their part, England’s quicks recharged for a final crack, and Australia’s veteran pair both needing to start again, it was a recipe for disaster on day five for the tourists, who were always going to require a lot to go right after variously erring with bat, ball and in the field across the first three days of the match.

The different balls on day four and five. Picture: Channel 9

Whereas several times earlier in the series Australia’s batters had been culpable for throwing their wickets away, this time they were almost exclusively beaten by quality bowling in good conditions.

Several former Australian players queried the change.

The legendary Ricky Ponting said on Sky’s broadcast that the Aussies appeared to have been hard done by.

“The batsmen don’t get it a say in it. The umpires go through that box and find the most similar to the one that is changing,” Ponting said.

Usman Khawaja was unimpressed at the change of ball. Picture: Getty

“If that is the most similar then they don’t have enough balls in that box. That is a huge contrast to the conditions to the two Dukes balls.

“The reason I think it is such a big deal, especially in England (is) because you don’t know what you will get condition-wise in the morning.”

Former Test batter Callum Ferguson went even harder.

“I think it is actually disgraceful they have allowed a ball this new into the game at the stage they did. It made it very difficult,” Ferguson told Channel 9.

Chris Woakes became unplayable with the hooping replacement ball. Picture: Getty

Once Moeen Ali started generating serious turn, the Aussies were massively up against it. There are good reasons why such lofty fourth innings targets are almost never reached.

So for the second time in Australia’s innings, rain precipitated a cluster of wickets.

Even then Todd Murphy – at No. 10 – showed the batting pluck he is quickly becoming known for.

And then, enter Stuart Broad, magic bail flick and all, to finally seal the deal.

But that Australia fell within 50 would gnaw away. How many more would have they got had they kept the old ball, or at least had it been replaced by one less flinty than this?

Certainly Khawaja was less than impressed when speaking on Channel 9 in the immediate aftermath of England winning.

“Since they changed that ball I knew straightaway that this ball is very different,” Khawaja said.

“They changed the ball because they said it got damaged but when that new ball came in and hit my bat, I’ve been opening every single innings this Ashes series and I have not felt a ball hit my bat as hard as that.”

Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head look on after another painful Ashes defeat. Picture: Getty

Australia kept finding a way through most challenges in this series. A tough spot in Birmingham, a Stokes firestorm at Lord’s, and a couple of days to ride out in Manchester.

At Old Trafford, those in the Aussie corner had fairly noted that if a team finds itself 2-0 down in an Ashes series, it cannot then complain if it doesn’t win because of some bad luck. That is the power of incumbency and ascendancy.

So in the same vein Australia can’t moan too much about getting a venomous ball from the box. After all these umpires couldn’t even figure out how many overs were supposed to be bowled. Ricky Ponting might want an investigation, but when the starting point is Joel Wilson, one must set the bar of expectation pretty low.

Ultimately the Aussies left themselves needing too many stars to align. If you drop five catches on day one, throw away good batting conditions on day two, and spray the new ball on day three, you have to cop misfortune at the back end.

Originally published as Ashes cricket 2023: Did new ball controversy rob Australia of epic series win over England in fifth Test?