Ball change impetus for shift McDonald ‘never seen’ before

The controversial ball change that became the pivotal moment in the final Ashes Test at The Oval brought about a shift in the game's strategies the likes of which Australia men's team coach Andrew McDonald admits he's never before witnessed.

While conceding his team should have adapted better to the radical switch the match underwent when England successfully asked for their 38-overs-old, unresponsive ball to be swapped and were duly granted a harder, shinier substitute, McDonald agreed it proved a defining act.

Former Test skipper Ricky Ponting described the choice of replacement ball made by on-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Joel Wilson as "a huge blunder" and called for an investigation into how the seemingly obvious substitution of an old-for-new ball could happen.

And Australia opener Usman Khawaja, who inadvertently caused the controversy when hit on the helmet by England fast bowler Mark Wood with such ferocity it caused damage to the original ball, claimed the second iteration was harder than any new ball he encountered during the series.

In the aftermath of his team's 49-run loss in the final Test, which ensured the Ashes series finished 2-2 with Australia retaining the urn, McDonald noted how England immediately altered their game plan with the near-new ball in hand.

Prior to the change, England's bowlers were looking to extract reverse swing from the unhelpful older ball with a cordon of catchers placed in front of batters Khawaja and David Warner, who had posted the series' first 100-plus opening stand to anchor Australia's victory pursuit of 384.

But when play resumed on Monday morning – the pair having faced less than two overs against the replacement ball before rain set in Sunday evening – three wickets fell in the opening hour, all to catches behind the wicket as the ball moved appreciably off the surface and in the air.

"I've never seen tactics shift so dramatically on the back of a decision," McDonald said.

"(It) went from catchers in front of the wicket to behind the wicket, and there's no doubt in some ways it changed the shape of the game and the tactics within the game.

"That ball change did have a significant bearing on the tactics, the way that England went about it.

"But in saying that, I think we still should have been able to navigate that.

"There were two clumps where we lost 3-30 (on the morning of day five) and 5-30 (after a rain delay later in the day), and that's part of us owning it.

"The umpires are out there to make a decision and they had a box of balls to choose from, and they made the best decision at that time from what they saw was there."

The ICC declined to comment on the specific instance at The Oval, but pointed out the protocols surrounding selection of a replacement ball during a match are clearly enshrined.

"The ICC does not comment on the decisions taken by umpires in matches," a spokesperson said.

"We can, however, confirm that all balls are pre-selected 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."

While the pair of batting collapses that bookended Australia's final innings of the tour ultimately saw them fall short of a first Ashes series win in the UK since 2001, McDonald described the series as "fascinating" and praised his players for what they were able to achieve.

He also expressed gratitude for fans in Australia who followed the Ashes Tests and WTC Final against India during the wee hours at home, and rejected suggestions his team had fallen victim to fatigue due to the hectic schedule of six matches inside nine weeks.

"The mental and physical toll of this tour, before we got here we knew what we were in for," he said.

"To have guys still running in and still hitting top speed late in the series, I think was a true reflection we got that side of it right and I wouldn't say that we dropped off.

"The Manchester (Test), we owned that result but Leeds (third Test) and here I think everyone was in the game and both teams had their chances, and we had a really good look at winning this series.

"When we sit back and reflect, once we let it all settle down and go back through it, there was definitely some opportunities for us to win and I think England can equally say the same.

"As it settles, two-all seems about right and I think everyone's said that.

"People should be proud of what they've been able to achieve, even if we didn't quite get to where we wanted to in winning the Ashes."

In addition to the pair of batting implosions on the final day in the face of inspired seam bowling from player of the series Chris Woakes and retiring veteran Stuart Broad, McDonald pointed to the five catches Australia turfed on day one after winning the toss as another turning point.

He revealed several of his players had spoken of difficulties they found in picking up the ball against the venue's dark backdrops under heavy cloud, but did not cite that as an excuse for the lapses which was an issue that also afflicted England early in the series.

The costliest of those mistakes at The Oval was Australia keeper Alex Carey's squandered chance off rival batter Harry Brook when the England strokemaker was on five, before he went on to top score in his team's first innings with 85.

Brook edged a chance to the keeper's right, but Carey was able to only thrust out one glove in diving way and the opportunity went begging.

McDonald was asked if the relentless jibes and ill-will to which Carey was subjected in the wake of his entirely legal stumping of keeping counterpart Jonny Bairstow at Lord's had an impact on the Australia gloveman, whose returns with the bat slipped from almost 50 prior to the incident to less than 15 afterwards.

"I wouldn't join the dots to what happened at Lord's, to his potential performance drop," McDonald said of the 31-year-old whose 26 dismissals (21 catches, five stumpings) across the series was the second-highest by an Australia keeper in a five-Test Ashes campaign in England after Brad Haddin's 29 in 2013.

"I think across a five-match series (bowlers) go through the way they work out an opponent.

"You can't sit there and say his keeping's at a high level and then say his performance dropped off.

"He missed probably one opportunity that will be highlighted this game with Harry Brook, and those things can happen.

"He got a little bit wrong-footed and that's just an error.

"But I thought the start of his Test career has been nothing short of fantastic with the gloves.

"And yeah he didn't score the runs he would have liked, but there's a few others in the changeroom that are probably in the same boat."

2023 Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK

First Test: Australia won by two wickets

Second Test: Australia won by 43 runs

Third Test: England won by three wickets

Fourth Test: Match drawn

Fifth Test: England won by 49 runs

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood