5th Ashes Test England v Australia July 27-31 1930hrs @ The Oval

[kickazz]

'We worked our backsides off and then they changed the ball'

Australia opener Usman Khawaja reveals umpires said there was no close replacement in the box of replacement balls, and hopes the ICC can tweak the process in future after a pivotal change swung momentum in the fifth Test

www.cricket.com.au

I was watching and it's true there were no equivalent balls in the box.

At that point, the umpire should have sent the guy back and asked for the box with "Australia" written on it.

 

[Gough]

I was watching and it's true there were no equivalent balls in the box.

At that point, the umpire should have sent the guy back and asked for the box with "Australia" written on it.

It's not like there wasn't anybody around who knew about changing the condition of the ball.

 

[4Seasons]

The way Stokes and McCullum carried on, egged on by the British media, and inflaming their supporters, was an absolute disgrace.

Hypocritical, self-absorbed, arrogant campaigners.

Well it worked.
On the hypocritical side, both sets of supporters spent the whole series whinging to high heaven.
On the plus side, i thought the Australian players did carry themselves with some grace, even with the English in their heads.

 

[FredLeDeux]

'We worked our backsides off and then they changed the ball'

Australia opener Usman Khawaja reveals umpires said there was no close replacement in the box of replacement balls, and hopes the ICC can tweak the process in future after a pivotal change swung momentum in the fifth Test

www.cricket.com.au

What a load of horse crap that the umps were unable to find a ball similar to the one the Pommies wanted changed. There should have been one, full stop, if not look harder or continue with the old one.

This happens regularly in grassroots cricket where the only replacement balls are in better condition than the old one; so what the umps do is rub the new one in the dirt until it looks like the old one.
It's not rocket science.

 

[kickazz]

This happens regularly in grassroots cricket where the only replacement balls are in better condition than the old one; so what the umps do is rub the new one in the dirt until it looks like the old one.
It's not rocket science.

Haha I'd love to see that at test level!

Look it is one of the many imperfect parts of the game, but moving forward I guess at Test level it would not be too much to ask that they have balls of varying usage (even use ones from shorter innings earlier in the series maybe) and most certainly the same 'batch/vintage' on hand at each game.

 

[BGman]

The way Stokes and McCullum carried on, egged on by the British media, and inflaming their supporters, was an absolute disgrace.

What happened to the 'spirit of cricket' the Pommies kept banging on about. Adding fuel to the fire was that neither their coach or skipper invited the Aussies into their dressing room after the Ashes finale, I take as read, that they refused our invitation in the first place, as is the Aussie way. Hello Pommies this was not Bodyline, no excuses.

 

[FredLeDeux]

Haha I'd love to see that at test level!

Look it is one of the many imperfect parts of the game, but moving forward I guess at Test level it would not be too much to ask that they have balls of varying usage (even use ones from shorter innings earlier in the series maybe) and most certainly the same 'batch/vintage' on hand at each game.

This has always been standard procedure as I understand it

 

[PhatBoy]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

 

[corbies]

Light , angles . It all affects photos . I was watching the ball in game and it looked the same . The guys looking and feeling the balls are professional neutral world class umpires . I gonna go with them . Sorry your grainy pics are a sad attempt as an excuse for a loss . It's swings , roundabouts . Teams always get replacement balls , they smile when they get a good one . Too bad So sad .

The ball didn't just start hooping the next day under different conditions. It started hooping immediately and England completely changed their tactics as a result. Wood went from a heavy legside and in front of the wicket field to a more traditional slip cordon and Woakes came straight on for Root.

The whinging is over the top but the ball having fundamentally different characteristics which were obvious to the eye can't be in dispute.

 

[FredLeDeux]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

To use a favourite expression of umpire educators, that's not unfair, it's just unlucky

 

[kickazz]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

You are deflecting from the issue here - no equivalent age/condition ball was available.

If there is, and weather/better bowling has it swinging, then all good, that's cricket.


The clear problem here is that there was no equivalent ball available/chosen.

 

[corbies]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

That happened on multiple occasions during the series just to a lesser extent and barely anyone complained apart from the English players when Marnus got to look at it. This was fundamentally different because the selection of the replacement was just so egregious.

 

[PhatBoy]

You are deflecting from the issue here - no equivalent age/condition ball was available.

If there is, and weather/better bowling has it swinging, then all good, that's cricket.


The clear problem here is that there was no equivalent ball available/chosen.

Sorry for deflecting, I thought I was asking something.

F*** me dead

 

[PhatBoy]

That happened on multiple occasions during the series just to a lesser extent and barely anyone complained apart from the English players when Marnus got to look at it. This was fundamentally different because the selection of the replacement was just so egregious.

I don’t disagree

 

[Glacier]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

They will always find something else to sook about

 

[ChristianBoy]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

Be a miracle. What happened here is a clear advantage awarded to one team.

 

[FredLeDeux]

You are deflecting from the issue here - no equivalent age/condition ball was available.

If there is, and weather/better bowling has it swinging, then all good, that's cricket.


The clear problem here is that there was no equivalent ball available/chosen.

These events, I think, will result in it being an ICC requirement of the ground authorities at Test/FC grounds.

But maybe not at bush league places like The Oval.

 

[sherb]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

But that didn't happen.

 

[PhatBoy]

Be a miracle. What happened here is a clear advantage awarded to one team.

The ball they ended up using, however old it was to begin with, was swinging like buggery after it had been used for 45 overs in THIS innings (so not counting the overs in it beforehand).

I don’t disagree that the selection of that particular ball was baffling given the disparity in appearance but there’s still no guarantee that it will do anything if it’s relatively new - it may be just as likely to slide onto the bat and race off it, and likewise an older ball may have had the shit shined out of one side and go all over the place.

I agree you can’t make a reason as to why they didn’t have an appropriate ball but they don’t know what it’s going to do once they select it

 

[PhatBoy]

But that didn't happen.

Hence I asked the question.

 

[sherb]

Hence I asked the question.

What if you didn't ask the question? What then?

 

[PhatBoy]

What if you didn't ask the question? What then?

Mind blown

 

[sherb]

Mind blown

But what if your mind wasn't blown?

 

[BGman]

The whinging is over the top

Plenty will disagree with that assessment. Pommies probably calling this protesting 'sour grapes'. Love to hear how they'd be taking the situation if the roles were reversed.

 

[kickazz]

Re. The ball change, what happens if they get a ball exactly the same age and it swings like buggery? What’s the reaction then?

Sorry for deflecting, I thought I was asking something.

F*** me dead

Fair enough,

Look I think ball replacement should be policed and reviewed by the match referees. If the scenario you suggest occurs then the match referee would be duty bound to assess why the sudden change in ball behaviour occurred, obviously factoring in weather and bowler performance.

Was it from the same batch, brand, how many overs had it played (or more importantly how 'worn' was it - ageing a ball by bashing it around is part of the game), that sort of thing. Objective things like seam protrusion could be measured.

Then any action, in my opinion, should be post game. I don't think fiddling around with the ball mid game based on more subjective assessments ("it's doing more") is a precedent we want to be setting. (I understand some of the current reasons can be subjective, but at least they pass it through the rings, etc).

It would more come down to being in line with pitch assessments/punishments. And an overall guiding principle would be to only act when the change is profound - changing a ball and getting slightly different behaviour is part of the game, stiff shit.