'I knew straight away that ball was...' - Usman Khawaja makes shocking claim after Ricky Ponting called for investigation on 'Ballgate' in 5th Ashes Test

The ‘ball-gate' incident that happened on the fifth day of the fifth Ashes 2023 Test ignited a big debate in the cricketing world. Australia were not comfortable after the change in a ball after few overs on the last day of the match. Just after the ball was changed, it shifted the momentum in favour of the hosts England.

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also fumed over this and demanded an investigation into the entire incident. He questioned the condition of the ball when it was changed in the second innings of the match. Now, Usman Khawaja has come up with a shocking revelation on the ‘disappointing’ act that happened at The Oval.

You could see the writing on both sides - Usman Khawaja

"As soon as they changed that ball, I knew straight away that ball was very different. I went up to (umpire Kumar Dharmasena) and asked, 'How old is this ball? It feels like it's eight overs old.' You could see the writing on both sides, and it hit my bat so hard. I've opened the batting in every single innings this Ashes series, and I haven't felt a ball hit my bat as hard as that ball. I said to the boys coming in, 'Be careful, this new ball is going to be tricky,'” said Khawaja after Australia’s defeat by 49 runs.

"Some things you can't control in this game, and it's disappointing for us because it felt like we had a real stranglehold on that game. That ball was at 90 overs and it was still hooping around corners and the keeper's taking it above his head. It really hurts you. England is a class bowling attack, and if you give them a little inch, they will always get as much out of it,” he added.

Earlier, Ponting also expressed his anger by questioning the step taken by the umpires. "The biggest concern I have is the big discrepancy in the condition of the ball that was chosen. There’s no way in the world you can even look at those two balls there and say in any way they are comparable. That is a huge moment in this game, potentially a huge moment in the Test match, and something I think has to be investigated. It was a perfect storm, conditions were perfect for bowling this morning,” said Ponting to Sky Sports.