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Day 4 of the inaugural unofficial Test match between India A and Australia A took place on Sunday, November 3 at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, and according to former Australian cricketer Ian Healy, India A engaged in some infamous play. Notably, umpires Ben Treloar and Shawn Craig chose to switch the ball used overnight before play started on the last day of the match.
Following some contentious conversations with the India A players, who were not satisfied with the choice, the decision was made. According to certain Australian media accounts, the umpires made the decision because the Indian fielders were "handling" the ball "improperly," which was a reference to ball-tampering. The website of Cricket Australia (CA) explained that the ball was replaced because it was deteriorating and that no specific charges of ball-tampering had been made against the India A players. Healy, however, is still of the opinion that India A was right on the money, which is why they opposed the ball change.
"When you see a team complain about a ball being changed, they were up to something. India A were gearing up for a big reverse swing session in order to get the Australians under pressure. Australia were chasing a small total and it just didn’t happen (for India A). The Australia A batters were oblivious to it. They just put their head down and performed really well," told to SENQ.
Returning to the game, Australia was 139/3 and chasing 225, with Beau Webster (19*) and Nathan McSweeney (47*) at the wicket. With a match-winning 141-run partnership, the pair easily led their team home. Webster scored 61*, and Sweeney was undefeated at 88*. Following the match, Australia A captain McSweeney denied witnessing any change in the ball and claimed he was unaware of the incident.
"To be honest, I can’t really (explain it) at all. I was at the striker’s end and the umpires simply said that they had changed the ball. I wasn’t sure what for because I didn’t see any change in the ball,” said McSweeney after the match.
India A will be keen to win the second Test match, which is scheduled to start on November 7 at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, after losing the first one. In the upcoming match, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel will also be seen representing India A.
