Ashes controversy rumbles on as Usman Khawaja vents anger after England defeat
Usman Khawaja has criticised the umpiring after England beat Australia in fifth Ashes Test
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Australian players past and present have been moaning about the ball in the wake of their defeat to England in the fifth and final Ashes Test on Monday.
And Usman Khawaja has now weighed in, venting his anger at the situation involving the ball.
In the morning on Day 5, the ball was changed with England players believing the shape of it had changed.
A replacement was then brought into the fold but it looked significantly newer than the previous version.
Australian players and present were unhappy with the umpire in England Ashes defeat
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This has angered Australian icons such as Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath, with both men demanding an investigation.
And Khawaja has now revealed he noticed 'straight away' that there was an issue, but his protests fell on deaf ears.
"I walked straight up to Kumar [Dharmasena] and said straight away: 'That ball looked nothing like the one we were playing with. I can see writing on it," he told cricket.com.au.
"It felt harder than any ball I've faced in this Ashes series - and I've opened the batting against the new ball every single time.
"I said, 'I don't know what's going on - you've gone from an old, reverse (swinging) ball to a brand-new ball.
"Personally, I think if there's nothing else in the box that can match the ball you have, you can't really change it.
"It's a bit frustrating as a batting unit because we worked our backsides off for 36 overs and then they changed the ball.
"As an opener you work so hard to get through to there and then you're facing a new ball again."
Like his compatriots, Khawaja has also called on the International Cricket Council to investigate.
"Unfortunately, that's the hand you get dealt sometimes in cricket," he said.
"It may not feel fair, but hopefully the ICC can learn from it and try to look at that ball to change the process."
After the match at The Oval, Ponting made his own feelings abundantly clear.
"There were some older ones that were picked up, the umpires looked at that and threw them back," he said.
"I just cannot fathom how two international umpires that have done that a lot of times before can get that so wrong.
"That is a huge moment in this game, potentially a huge moment in the Test match, and something I think actually has to be investigated: whether there was the right condition of balls in the box, or the umpires have just, blasé, picked one out of there that they think will be okay to use."
And fellow Australian hero McGrath added: "I must say - and it is not the reason England won - the fact the umpires changed a 37-over-old ball on day four - the original was knocked out of shape when Mark Wood hit Usman Khawaja on the helmet - for one that looked like it had been used for no more than 15 overs has to be looked into to.
"That should not happen.
"But, ultimately, the wait for a first Ashes series win in the UK since 2001 goes on another four years."
England had trailed 2-0 in the series.
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Australia icons such as Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath have been moaning after England Ashes defeat
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However, after victories in the third and fifth Tests at Headingley and The Oval, they were able to avoid a first series defeat on home soil since 2001.
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