The infamous Dukes cricket ball from the latest Ashes test could be five years old as the manufacturer prepares to investigate the ball swap scandal that cost Australia victory
- Speculation England got a 2018 series Dukes ball
- Saga unfolded late on day four in the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval
- ‘New’ ball changed the course of the game, England went on to win
- Dilip Jajodia, owner of the Dukes balls, wants answers from ICC
- Gripping 2023 Ashes series ended 2-2, Aussies kept the urn
An investigation is likely amid growing speculation that the Dukes cricket ball used by England in the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval may have been as old as five years.
Set a target of 384 for victory, Australia crossed at 0-135 late on day four, but the game was turned upside down when the ball was substituted by the umpires after Mark Wood slammed Aussie batsman Usman Khawaja into the back of the hit helmet.
The replacement Dukes ball given to Ben Stokes’ pace attack began to fluctuate noticeably – and wickets for the tourists soon followed.
Opening batsman Khawaja was stunned, adamant that the ‘new’ ball was doing more than it should.
“I walked right up to Kumar (Referee Kumar Dharmasena) and said, ‘that ball is nothing like the ball we were playing with….. run at 2-2.
An investigation is likely amid speculation that the Dukes cricket ball used by England in the fifth Ashes Test may have been five years old (pictured, Australian batman Usman Khawaja after his dismissal on day five in the final Ashes Test)
After Khawaja hit the back of the helmet and the ball went out of shape, England were given a ‘new’ ball by the umpires (right) which they used in the fifth Ashes Test
“It felt harder than any other ball I’ve encountered in this Ashes series – and I’ve opened the batting against the new ball every time.”
Australian cricket great Ricky Ponting called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to investigate immediately – and now it can be revealed that the owner of Dukes’ balls – Dilip Jajodia – also wants answers.
He stated that it was ‘unlikely but not impossible’ that a Dukes ball from the 2018 or 2019 Ashes series somehow ended up in the umpire’s box in London.
“I can’t imagine they would risk putting a ball in it with a different date on it,” Jajodia said News Corp.
“Frankly, the match referee should be on top of it.
“We’re banging that number in pretty hard, so even when the gold comes off the ball, it’s pressed. It wouldn’t be easy to get rid of it. I’m not saying it’s impossible (it was a ball from 2018 or 2019), but it’s not likely.
“I’m going to investigate myself, because it affects me … my name is on the line.”
Australia kept the urn but were able to win the fifth test before the ball was changed on day four (pictured, skipper Pat Cummins)
Australian cricket great Ricky Ponting (pictured left) called on the International Cricket Council to investigate the ball-swap scandal
Ponting was in disbelief at the chosen ball, which appeared to have hardly been used in contrast to a ‘weathered’ ball which was 37 overs old.
“There’s no way you can look at those two balls and say they’re similar in any way,” an irate Ponting said in commentary on Sky Sports.
“At the end of the day, if you’re going to change the ball, you want to make sure you do it right so that it’s as close as possible to the ball you’re changing it from.
“There weren’t a lot of older condition balls there – there were a few older ones that got picked up, they threw them back.
“I can’t fathom how two international umpires who have done this so many times can be so wrong… I think (it) needs to be investigated.”