– Vinay Kumar
Batting first in the first match of the 3-match T20I series (ENG vs AUS T20I Series, 2022) between Australia and England played in Perth, England scored 208 runs and set Australia a target of 209 runs to win. Alex Hales and Jos Butler got off to a good start with a strong partnership of 132 runs. Hales scored 84 runs in 51 balls and Butler also made 68 runs in just 32 balls while batting very well. However, none of the other batsmen could play a big innings, but the England team scored 208 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. During this match, such an incident was caught on camera which is being said against the spirit of the game.
It is worth noting that, chasing the target of 209 runs to win over England, Australia’s team could score only 200 runs for the loss of 9 wickets and lost the match. In the meantime, such a sight was caught in the camera, seeing that it looks like Australia’s batsman Matthew Wade is stopping England’s Mark Wood from taking the catch. In the 17th over of the match, Mark Wood’s ball hit the top edge of Matthew Wade’s bat and jumped in the air. Mark Wood tried to catch the ball, but returning to strike, Matthew Wade stretched out his hand to prevent Mark Wood from catching the ball, and the ball fell to the ground.
The CEO of Sportsman Spirit, M Wade, stopping M Wood from catching the ball!!
The OZs@azkhawaja1 pic.twitter.com/zAsJl6gpqz— WaQas Ahmad (@waqasaAhmad8) October 9, 2022
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In view of this incident, England captain Jos Buttler raised his hands in doubt. But, no other player of the team raised his voice on this matter.
The video of the incident went viral. Which came to be called against the ‘spirit of cricket’. However, Matthew Wade could not stay at the crease for long. In the final over of the match, England’s constituent bowler Sam Curran fell victim. The match was in a very thrilling phase and England defeated Australia by 8 runs in this high-scoring match. In this match, Mark Wood (Mark Wood AUS vs ENG 1st T20I Series, 2022) took 3 wickets.