It’s a treat for the fans whenever England and Australia take on each other, no matter what the format is. With the T20 World Cup approaching, England are on a tour to Australia for a three-match T20I series. It would provide both sides the best opportunity to prepare the marquee event.
The visitors sealed the first T20I which was played on October 9 (Sunday) at the Perth Stadium. Batting first, English openers showed fire works as they raced towards a mammoth total right from the beginning. While returnee Jos Buttler scored 68 off 32 deliveries, Alex Hales smashed a 84 off just 54 deliveries. At the end of 20 overs, England set a target of 209 for the home side.
In reply, David Warner gave a good start to his side but he didn’t find enough support from the other end. The left-handed opener departed after scoring a vital 73 off 44 balls. Marcus Stoinis tried his best to get his team over the line with his quick cameo but Australia fell 8 runs short.
Despite numerous good performances from different individual, it was Matthew Wade’s antics that caught the attention of the fans. The incident happened in the 17th over when Wade edged a delivery off Mark Wood and the ball went into the air before dropping close to batting crease.
As no fielder could get close to the ball, Wood tried to go for the catch following his run-up. But Wade, who was trying to get back to the batting crease, blocked Wood by putting his arm across his body. As a result, Wood couldn’t get near to the ball to get the batter dismissed.
Following the incident, the umpires had a chat but as England didn’t appeal for obstructing the field, the game went on. However, it didn’t settle well with the fans and they are lashing out at the 30-year-old for his wrong doings. Here are some of the reactions:
The CEO of Sportsman Spirit, M Wade, stopping M Wood from catching the ball!!
— WaQas Ahmad (@waqasaAhmad8) October 9, 2022
The OZs@azkhawaja1 pic.twitter.com/zAsJl6gpqz
England captain Jos Buttler on the Matthew Wade obstruction incident: "I wasn't sure what happened. They asked if I wanted to appeal, and I thought, 'We're here for a long time in Australia.'
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) October 9, 2022
"I would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip."#AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/8DwqRhSVvK
No hate to Matthew wade but imagine Any Indian cricketer (men or women) did like this,
— Pradip¶🇮🇳 (@Ruined__myself_) October 9, 2022
whole England would've gone crazy for so called Spirit of Game. #AUSvENG
Absolute rubbish from the commentary team trying to justify what Matthew Wade did there
— Aditya (@A_aditya1308) October 9, 2022
He clearly was obstructing the field irrespective of the importance of the match. And no,he wasn't trying to gain momentum for a dive 🤡#engvsAus
How Matthew Wade got away with that? Surely that’s obstruction
— Chris Harty (@ChrisHarty14) October 9, 2022
1) Knocked Paxtan out of the T20 WC !
— Schrodinger 🇮🇳 (@_zuck_4) October 9, 2022
2) Kept the Sportsmanship Spirit between his legs against England !
A Pro – Indian Aussie 🇮🇳🤝🇦🇺#MatthewWade | #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/HWGCZPybBN
