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Mike Hussey speaks out over Matthew Wade incident against England

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read
Matthew Wade, pictured here obstructing Mark Wood.
Mike Hussey says he would have appealed for Matthew Wade to be out obstructing the field. Image: Getty/Fox Sports

Aussie cricket great Mike Hussey has admitted he would have appealed after Matthew Wade's controversial incident in the first T20 between Australia and England.

Wade was widely condemned by fans after appearing to intentionally obstruct England bowler Mark Wood as he was attempting a catch at Optus Stadium in Perth.

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Wade top-edged a delivery from Wood into his helmet, with the ball then ballooning into the air.

With Wood running down the pitch in an attempt to catch the ball, Wade put out his arm and prevented the bowler from completing the dismissal.

England captain Jos Buttler didn't go through with an appeal for obstructing the field and instead let Wade continue his innings.

But Aussie great Hussey, who is working as an assistant coach for England for the T20 World Cup, says he would have taken a harder stance against Wade.

“Obstructing the field doesn’t happen very often at all…I probably would have appealed,” he told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

“My understanding is the umpires asked Jos if he wanted to appeal and Jos said, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it’.

"It was pretty good thinking I guess to have that clarity of thinking in a pressure situation, to be able to think about the long game rather than that one incident.

“But it would have been interesting if it was just left to the third umpire to make a decision, because I felt as though, watching, he certainly impeded the bowler from a chance to take the catch.

"It almost needed to be taken out of Jos’ hands and just be left to the third umpire or the umpires out there to make a call on what they thought.”

Mike Hussey, pictured here before the first T20 between Australia and England.
Mike Hussey looks on before the first T20 between Australia and England. (Photo by Paul Kane - CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

Why Jos Buttler didn't appeal against Matthew Wade

Buttler revealed after the match that he didn't want to get Australian fans offside ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“I just had my eyes on the ball the whole time, so didn’t really see what happened," he said.

"They asked if I wanted to appeal, but I thought we are here for a long time in Australia, and it would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip.

“We’ve only just got to Australia so I thought, let’s carry on in the game.

“I didn’t see it live, I was just looking at the ball … I don’t know what I’m appealing for really.

“I could have asked maybe some of the other boys to see if they had a better view but I just thought, get on with the game.”

Asked if things would have been different if the incident occurred during the upcoming World Cup, Buttler said: “Maybe.”

Wade had threatened to steal the game away from England at the death, making 21 off 15 balls and giving Australia an outside chance of victory.

But Buttler's decision didn't prove costly for the visitors, with Wade's dismissal in the final over dousing Australia's hopes.

Nevertheless, Wade's actions were widely condemned on social media, with some accusing the Aussie batter of 'cheating'.

English fans were also quick to point out that Wade was behind the stumps when Ben Stokes was given out obstructing the field during an ODI against England in 2015.

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