David Warner says Cricket Australia ‘squashed’ ball change issue ‘as fast as they could’

PTI, Nov 6, 2024, 11:26 AM IST

Sydney: Former Australia opener David Warner has called on Cricket Australia to clarify what happened when the umpires changed the ball during India A’s first unofficial Test against Australia A, claiming the governing body “squashed” the matter “as quickly as possible.” Warner, whose leadership ban has just been lifted by Cricket Australia, said the matter was done away with given that the senior Indian team is bound for Australia for a five-Test series.

The issue emerged on the final day of the four-day game in Mackay last week, when the umpires provided the Indian players with a different ball to use at the start of play. The Indian players, particularly Ishan Kishan, were unhappy with the decision as the wicketkeeper-batter terming it as “a very stupid decision.” “I think the ultimate decision’s with CA, isn’t it? I think they’ve obviously squashed it as fast as they could, given that India’s coming out here this summer,” Warner was quoted as saying by the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.

“But if the umpires deem that something happened, then I’m sure there’ll be a follow-up and I think the umpires or the match referee should be standing here answering those questions.” “I think the match referee should be coming out and addressing his own staff, who are the umpires, and if they’re sticking by the umpire’s decisions, then you’ve got to stand up for that. I think that’s obviously a statement that CA probably need to release,” he added.

On the final day, the stump mic audio picked umpire Shawn Craig as saying, “You scratch it, we change the ball. There will be no more discussion, let’s play. This is not a discussion, you will be playing with that ball.” Kishan retorted: “So we are going to play with this ball…that’s a very stupid decision.” Hours after the game finished, CA issued a statement saying, “The ball used in the fourth innings of the match was changed due to deterioration. Both teams’ captain and manager were informed of the decision prior to the start of play. No further action is being taken.” Under the laws of cricket, a five-run penalty is imposed if the umpires change the ball after determining it has been unfairly altered.

However, CA’s playing conditions include an additional clause that allows the umpires to change the ball without applying penalty runs if it’s unclear how the ball became damaged. Australia A were not awarded five penalty runs.