'Can’t believe they didn’t appeal' - Usman Khawaja's dig at England for not appealing against Matthew Wade
Jos Buttler's decision to not appeal left England fans surprised.
England won their first T20I against Australia at Perth Stadium to take a crucial 0-1 lead in the three-match away series. It was a thrilling clash between two giants ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 with no shortage of entertainment for the fans. England scored 208/6 while batting first after big fifties from Alex Hales and captain Jos Buttler. Australia also responded well but failed eight runs short of the target after impressive bowling spells from Mark Wood and Sam Curran.
But fans also expected some unusual drama in the 17th over when Australia wicketkeeper batter Matthew Wade tried to construct the field to avoid getting run out. In Wood's last over, Wade clearly blocked the bowler by extending his arm. To everyone's surprise, Buttler and Wood did very little effort with their protest for potential obstruction to the field.
Fans and many former cricketers expressed their views on the matter and now the veteran Australian batter Usman Khawaja also joins the debate. Khawaja took a sly dig at England team for not appealing against Wade's potential obstruction by tweeting, "can't believe they didn't appeal," with a smiling emoticon.
I didn’t know what I was appealing for: Jos Buttler
Despite Wade's obstruction to the field, England survived the thriller by eight runs to signal out their opponents in the three-match series. After the match, Buttler clarified his decision of not appealing against Wade's obstruction of the field. He revealed that he was not completely aware of the situation and should have asked his teammates for a better view.
“They asked if I wanted to appeal and I said ‘no’. I’ve only just got to Australia, so I thought just carry on with the game. It was hard because I didn’t know what I was appealing for. I could have asked some of the other boys to see if they had a better view but thought I would get on with the game. Maybe I should have asked a few of the lads," Buttler said after the match.
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