‘Ludicrous’: Claims a ball from previous Ashes series was used in 5th Test rejected

Claims a Dukes ball from a previous series could have been the one selected as a replacement by umpires in the final Ashes Test have been rejected as “ludicrous” by Surrey County Cricket Club, which was responsible for providing the balls.

Amid the fallout from the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval, Dilip Jajodia, the owner of Dukes cricket balls, vowed to launch his own investigation after Australian players and commentators questioned the quality of the replacement ball used in the second innings last week.

Australian batter Usman Khawaja said he raised the issue twice with the umpires, who replaced the ball late on the fourth day after it struck his helmet, declaring it was markedly different from any used in the series.

England won the match by 49 runs to level the series 2-2 and it emerged some believed among the available replacement balls were ones from the 2019 series that had a more pronounced seam.

Balls are supplied to directly to venues who then make them available to the umpires.

In this case, they were supplied by Surrey and a spokesperson for the county club rubbished claims old balls could have been among the stock from which umpires Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena chose the replacement.

“Mr Jajodia is correct to say that Dukes balls are supplied to The Oval and to Surrey CCC ahead of the season for use in matches and training,” a Surrey spokesperson told Britain‘s PA news agency.

“These balls can also be used as match replacements, as seen during the Test.

“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.”

Every ball produced for a specific season has the date stamped on it.

Jajodia told CODE Sports that while “it‘s not likely” a ball from a different year could have been used, he would be asking questions to rule it out.

The International Cricket Council backed the selection process used by the umpires.

“The ICC does not comment on the decisions taken by umpires in matches,” a spokesman said.

“We can, however, confirm that all balls are preselected before the start of every match and 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.”