AUS vs ENG: Zak Crawley Admits Ball Change In 5th Test Made A Difference

England opener Zak Crawley has admitted that changing the ball in the 5th Test of Ashes 2023 made a difference in the match. Zak Crawley also added that the old ball wasn’t doing much for his team.

During ENG vs AUS 5th Test, umpires changed a ball during the Day 4 of the match. The new ball favored England pacers to a great extent. Australia, who were railing at 140-0 at one stage while chasing 384, were bundled out for 334 in the end.

Many former cricketers and commentators like Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher, Ricky Ponting, and Glenn McGrath criticized this decision of the umpires. According to them, an old ball was replaced by quite a new one. Hence, it twisted the encounter in England’s favor.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

The Ball Change Probably Made The Difference: Zak Crawley

During Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast, former England skipper Michael Vaughan and England opener Zak Crawley had a chat over the incident. Vaughan jokingly asked the English opener who kept the ball in the box. To this, Crawley replied it might be one of the support staff.

“I’m not sure. Maybe one of the support staff snuck in there and put it in. It was a nice touch for us”, Zak Crawley said.

The right-handed batsman also admitted that the incident probably made the difference in the match as the previous ball was not helping his team.

“ You get good breaks and bad breaks throughout the series and both sides had their share of good breaks at times and bad breaks. It’s fair to say that was certainly a good break for us and probably made the difference in the end because the ball we had before wasn’t doing much,” the 25-year-old added.

While the event of the ball change created a buzz in the news, ICC backed the decision of its umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Joel Wilson. After the ball change, England’s pacers completely outplayed the visitors.

Zak Crawley Scored 480 Runs In Ashes 2023

The Ashes 2023 series ended in a 2-2 draw. Australia gained a 2-0 lead after the first two games. However, the Ben Stokes & Boys won the 3rd and 5th Tests to deny series-win to the visitors. The 4th Test ended in a draw,

Zak Crawley executed a vivacious batting show in Ashes 2023. The right-handed batter slammed 480 runs in 9 innings at an average of 53.33. The England opener also hit 1 century and 2 half-centuries in the tournament.