Buttler reveals why England didn’t appeal for Wade to be out on obstruction

Matthew Wade seemed to be blocking Mark Wood as the bowler tried to take a return catch after the southpaw top-edged a delivery onto his helmet

PHOTO: File

During a high-scoring encounter in Perth, Australia failed to chase down England’s 208-6 and slipped 1-0 down in the three-match T20I series.

Wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade seemed to be blocking Mark Wood as the bowler tried to take a return catch after the southpaw top-edged a delivery onto his helmet.

Spirit of the Game at its best.#MatthewWade #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/gkNzsAFb8m
— Mogambo (@mogambo_bhai) October 9, 2022

Wood and Jos Buttler, who was behind the stumps, immediately turned to the umpires in frustration, but play resumed after Wade consulted medical staff for the blow on his head.

After the match, England skipper Buttler spoke on the Wade-Wood incident and said: “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. I would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip.”

Jos Buttler on the Matthew Wade/Mark Wood incident #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/VJ1TKPwlyw
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) October 9, 2022

This incident has once again brought up the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ debate to the fore. This time around, the Indian cricket fraternity questioned England and Buttler for not appealing against Wade.

In 2015, when Ben Stokes was given out for obstructing the field, Wade was one of the first players to make an appeal. And the then Australia captain Steve Smith later said: “Wadey had a good view of it behind the stumps. He said straight away that he thought the ball was missing stokessy and it was going to hit the stumps. So he appealed and we went upstairs and the umpire gave it out.”