In quite a bizarre incident during the England-Australia first T20I in Perth, Australia’s Matthew Wade stopped seamer Mark Wood from taking a catch!! And surprisingly, nobody from the England team appeal forcefully against this transgression from Wade which could have resulted in his dismissal.
The game hung in balance when Australia were 169/5 at the 16-over mark while chasing 209. 39 runs needed off 22 balls. England’s fastest bowler Mark Wood had the ball. Matthew Wade, who has been in an incredible form in run-chases in T20Is since last year, was just new to the crease and had faced only a couple of balls for no run.
On the third ball of the 17th over, Wood went short and Wade attempted a pull. However, hurried by Wood’s pace and Perth’s bounce, Wade managed a top edge which brushed his helmet and lobbed up in the air behind him.
In his follow-through, Mark Wood came charging in to take the catch and so did wicket-keeper Jos Buttler. Wade didn’t know where the ball exactly was, but he had a hint of it as he stopped Wood with his arm.
Wade’s left arm came across Wood’s chest, and you really have to be a biased judge to say that Wade wasn’t attempting to stop Wood in his way to take the catch. Wood expressed displeasure at being stopped 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 – which, as you can see in the video below, seems so – but then decided against it and gave the batsman the benefit of doubt as Wade didn’t know where the ball was.
You can watch the video below and decide whether Wade intentionally stopped Wood in his way or not:
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
After this escape, Wade gave a fight, scoring 21 runs off the 15 balls he faced, but couldn’t take Australia over the line as the visitors won by 8 runs.
After the match England skipper Jos Buttler was asked about this incident and his thoughts of Wade’s action: “I was looking at the ball and didn’t notice what exactly happened,” Buttler said.
