England skipper Jos Buttler has spoken his mind out when asked why he didn’t appeal against Matthew Wade who was alleged to have obstructed the field while playing against England in the first T20I at the Optus Stadium in Perth. It all happened in the 17th over with Australia chasing 209 runs. That was when Wade top-edged Mark Wood and realized he might be caught.
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He was then seen rushing back at the crease, but not before trying to stop England bowler with his left hand, obstructing him not to make the ground so that he can take the catch.
Now, England skipper Jos Buttler has come out and spoken on the whole affair, saying he didn’t realise what transpired between Wade and Wood. He also added that he couldn’t appeal as they had just started the Australian tour which is still far from getting over. Appealing would have meant backlash from the local press and fans.
“I was looking at the ball the whole time, so I wasn’t sure what happened. They asked if I wanted to appeal, but I thought we are here for a long time in Australia so would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip,” Buttler was quoted as saying after the match.
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Buttler, however, said that he may not mind appealing if a similar incident happened during the World Cup. “Maybe, yeah,” he added.
Coming back to the match, England openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler blasted half-centuries to lead England to an eight-run win over Australia on Sunday in the first of three warm-up games before the T20 World Cup starts later this month.
England powered to 208-6 after losing the toss, a commanding total which proved too much for Australia despite a gallant 44-ball 73 from David Warner.
The world champions scored 200-9 in their 20 overs, disappointing a 25,755-strong crowd starved of international cricket for nearly three years due to strict border controls in Western Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fresh off a 4-3 series win against Pakistan, England welcomed Buttler (68 off 32 balls) and firebrand Ben Stokes back into the team as they look to settle their line-up.
Buttler showed no rustiness overcoming a calf injury, blasting 16 off seamer Cameron Green in the first over.
The skipper combined with Hales (84 from 51) to find the rope 27 times, capitalising on Australia’s decision to experiment with all-rounders instead of specialist seamers in the series opener.
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