Australia’s wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade had recently stopped England fast bowler Mark Wood from catching in the first T20 International match played in Perth. Wade had pushed Wood to stop him from taking the catch.
This incident happened in the 17th over of the Australian innings. The hosts needed 39 runs from 22 balls, when Wood’s ball was hit by the upper edge of Wade’s bat. When the bowler went to take the catch, the batsman took out his hand and stopped him. This was a clear case of the ‘obstructing the field’ rule. England captain Jos Buttler surprised everyone by not appealing in this. Butler later said that the tour was a long one and that he didn’t want to spoil anything at the start.
Now star all-rounder Sam Curran has also given his reaction on this matter. Curran indicated that the England team would approach the World Cup with a different approach and appeal for obstructing the field.
Curran said, ‘Maybe we should appeal in the World Cup match. It may be a little different. There was a bit of a stir at the start of the series against Australia, but always remains competitive. When you play a match against Australia and let’s say there is a World Cup match, you are a tough competitor and want to win at any cost.
He added, ‘At that moment you expected the third umpire to be helped and the best decision would come out because Wood had bowled a good ball and he deserved the wicket. He stayed away from her. What Jose said was probably the right thing in the end. We have to stay here for a long time so it’s a little fun. But maybe if there was a World Cup, things would have been different.
Curran also advised that it is not necessary to appeal to the players in such decisions but the umpire should give the decision. The English all-rounder said, ‘As a player, when you saw the ball going up, our focus was on the ball and not the movement between the players. Probably the easiest way would have been to go to the third umpire. It would have been difficult for the on-field umpires to make a decision as they were probably also focused on looking at the ball. Hope it doesn’t happen too much. But on big occasions, it is the wicket that can win or defeat you. So the easy way would have been to take the decision of the third umpire.
