WATCH: Was Matthew Wade guilty of blocking the pitch? Jos Buttler said ‘Bowlers asked me if I wanted to appeal and I said no’

England captain Jos Buttler chose to avoid controversy when Matthew Wade deliberately tried to block the pitch in the opening game of the Australian tour. Buttler stated that he could appeal if there was a T20 World Cup match. That field blocking incident took 25,000 Optus Stadium fans by surprise, but it eased after Buttler’s statement.

Australia was at 175/5 when Matthew Wade made a short delivery from Mark Woods. The ball hit Wade’s helmet before it exploded. Wood was running towards the incline to catch him. However, he couldn’t continue when Wade stretched out his arm trying to get back into the crease.

Watch the video below:

ALSO READ | India v Western Australia XI, Warm-ups: Dates, Timings, Squads, TV Broadcast & Live Stream Details

“I just arrived in Australia so I thought about continuing the game” – Jos Buttler, Matthew Wade blocking the field

When English captain Jos Buttler was asked about the incident, he said his focus was on the ball so he didn’t see much of what was going on. When the bowlers asked him to object, he said no as it was the English team’s first game in Australia.

“Maybe,” Buttler said in a post-match press conference when asked if he would appeal to block the pitch if it had been a T20 World Cup game. “They asked me if I wanted to appeal, I said no. I just arrived in Australia so I thought about continuing the game.”

He added that he “didn’t really see what was happening” as he watched the ball closely. “It was difficult because I didn’t know what I was addressing,” he said. “I could have asked some of the other kids if they had a better view, but I thought I’d keep playing. Maybe I should have asked a few kids.”

Watch the video below:

Meanwhile, England took a 1-0 lead in the three-game T20I series. After Wade defeated Sam Curran in the penultimate match, Australia eventually lost the thriller by eight runs. Butler (68) and Alex Hales (84) got off to an excellent start in leading his team to 208/6. Wood received three wickets to help limit Australia to 200/9.

ALSO READ | “Good right!” – Shreyas Iyer smashed tons to lead India to a clinical win against South Africa

ALSO READ | England beat Australia with 8 runs in the 1st T20I, while Twitter harshly criticizes Matthew Wade’s ‘field blocking’.