England kicked off their tour of Australia with an 8-run victory in a thrilling first T20I in Perth on Sunday.
England openers, captain Jos Buttler (68 runs off 32 balls) and Alex Hales (84 off 51) starred with the bat helping the side put up a big total of 208. Australia, on the back of 73 runs off 44 balls by David Warner, came close and kept the chase alive till the last over, but fell short by 8 runs.
The game was marred by another controversy involving Matthew Wade and Mark Wood. This incident could have had a turning impact on the final outcome.
On the third ball of the 17th over, Wood went short and Wade attempted a pull. However, Wade managed a top edge that brushed his helmet and the ball lobbed up in the air behind him.
Wood came charging in to take the catch and so did wicket-keeper Jos Buttler. Wade, however, stopped Wood with his arm! Wade’s left arm came across Wood’s chest making sure that the seamer didn’t reach the ball in time to complete the catch. Wood expressed displeasure at being obstructed in his run to the ball which was in the air when Wade stopped him.
The two umpires converged to have a discussion about whether Wade was purposefully obstructing the field. They asked Jos Buttler whether he’d want to appeal for obstructing the field against Wade, but Buttler decided against it.
The CEO of Sportsman Spirit, M Wade, stopping M Wood from catching the ball!!
The OZs@azkhawaja1 pic.twitter.com/zAsJl6gpqz— WaQas Ahmad (@waqasaAhmad8) October 9, 2022
This has now created a big controversy because Wade was clearly obstructing Wood from taking the catch.
Of many, this also left the Barmy Army stunned as they took to Twitter to express their shock at why Wade continued later learning that Buttler had decided to not appeal.
“Blatant obstructing of the field. Not like the Aussies to behave unfairly. HOW IS THAT NOT OUT?????” the Barmy Army tweeted.
The Bharat Army, Team India’s fan group, was quick to take a dig at the Barmy Army, citing the whole Spirit Of Cricket saga which was a talking point in the past month.
“No worries, it is the spirit of the game that matters the most lads,” the Bharat Army wrote.
No worries, it is the spirit of the game that matters the most lads 😉 https://t.co/hAPY5eEyuT
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) October 9, 2022
Jos Buttler was later asked why he didn’t appeal, he said: “They asked if I wanted to appeal and I said ‘no’. I’ve only just got to Australia so I thought just carry on with the game. It was hard because I didn’t know what I was appealing for. I could have asked some of the other boys to see if they had a better view but thought I would get on with the game. Maybe I should have asked a few of the lads.”
Asked if he would have appealed for obstructing the field if it was a T20 World Cup match, the England captain said, “Maybe”
