“He Certainly Impeded The Bowler”: Australia Great’s Take On Matthew Wade Obstruction Incident

Matthew Wade sparked controversy with his action on the field in Australia’s first T20I against England in Perth on Sunday. While batting at the crease, Wade mishit England pacer Mark Wood’s delivery in the air and then obstructed the bowler from taking the catch. England didn’t appeal against it but Wade couldn’t escape the aftermath of his action. Several cricket pundits, including those from Australia and England, put forward their views on the incident. Former Australia batter Mike Hussey, who is also the coaching consultant for England, is among the ones to comment.

Hussey feels that Wade “impeded” Wood “from a chance to take the catch”.

“My understanding is the umpires asked Jos (Buttler) if he wanted to appeal and Jos said ‘oh don’t worry about it’,” Mike Hussey was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

“But it would have been interesting if it was just left to the third umpire to make a decision, because I felt as though, watching, he certainly impeded the bowler from a chance to take the catch.

“I’m sure if he was given out the crowd would have got involved a bit there. But it almost needed to be taken out of Jos’ hands and just be left to the third umpire or the umpires out there to make a call on what they thought.

“Obstructing the field doesn’t happen very often at all … I probably would have appealed.”

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Talking about the incident in detail, Wade top-edged a pull-off Wood onto his helmet in the 17th over of Australia’s chase of 209 runs vs England. The ball ballooned straight up in the air. Wood ran in towards the striker’s end to try and take the catch, but Wade, turning back towards the crease, extended his arm and restricted Wood from getting to the ball, which landed safely.

However, England went on to win the game by 9 runs.