‘No way you can even look at those two balls’ - Former Australia captain enraged over bizarre ball-change on Day 4 of Oval Test

The Ashes 2023 series ended in a dramatic manner as the five-Test series ended in a draw. Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was not happy with the ball change on Day 4 of the Ashes Test. Even though England won the final Ashes Test, Australia retained the title. 

Speaking of controversy in this edition of Ashes, there have been many, from Jonny Bairstow's dismissal to Steve Smith’s not-out. Actually, in the Oval Test, controversy erupted on the 37th over of Australia’s second innings on Day four when a new ball was used as a replacement one. 

Now if you have a look in that box, there weren't too many older-condition balls in there - Ricky Ponting 

“The biggest concern I have is the big discrepancy in the condition of the ball that was chosen to replace. There's no way in the world you can even look at those two balls there and say in any way are they comparable. If you are going to change the ball, you want to make sure that you get it right, so it is as close as you possibly can to the one that you're changing it from,” Ponting said to Sky Sports. 

 “Now if you have a look in that box, there weren't too many older-condition balls in there. There were some older ones that were picked up, the umpires looked at that and threw them back," he further added. 

As understood, the way the ball was changed, actually elicited a reaction from Ponting and the Australian players. There is also one more reason for the anger and frustration of Australian fans, as after the change in ball, the Pat Cummins-led side lost momentum and lost all 10 wickets. In the 37th over, the ball struck Usman Khawaja's helmet, which damaged the ball, so it was replaced when Australia was 126/0. 

“That is a huge moment in this game, potentially a huge moment in the Test match, and something I think actually has to be investigated... whether there was the right condition of balls in the box, or the umpires have just picked one out of there that they think will be okay to use," concluded Ponting on ball change. 

Speaking of the Oval Test, Australia ended Day Four on 135/0 with David Warner and Khawaja batting steadily, but on the last day, chasing the target of 384 runs, they were bowled out for 334. Eventually, the Ashes 2023 ended in a draw at 2-2 as the Ben Stokes-led side came back strongly in the series after losing back-to-back Tests in the series.