Cricket fans have been witnessing some amazing results and two mega upsets during the start of the 2022 T20 World Cup. This is the first time that Australia is hosting the event. Australia also happen to the current holders of the T20 World title after Aaron Finch and his men won the title beat the Kiwis to win at UAE in 2021.
The story as it happened –
England and Australia locked horns in a 3 match T20 series prior to the start of the 2022 T20 World Cup. England won the series 2-0 with the final match getting rained off. The controversy happened in the 1st game when Matthew Wade seemed to have blocked Mark Wood.
Wade got hit on the helmet by Wood while going for a pull shot. The ball landed just short of the stumps. Before the ball could fall, Mark Wood ran the length of the pitch to grab a catch but was seemingly stopped by Wade. This created a huge drama on the field and social media. The fans called out Wade for apparent obstruction of field. Jos Buttler and English players were left stunned post this incident.
Matthew Wade finally breaks his silence on the incident –
34 year old Wade, who is the wicket keeper for the defending champs has finally spoken out on the incident. Wade while speaking to The Unplayable Podcast said “then I wasn’t sure if I was going to get run or where the actual ball was. It all happened just literally like that. I was on the ground, I looked up and the ball was like coming down. If I had a conscious thought of doing it, then I’d be regrettable for doing it. If they had appealed and I saw it on the replay, so be it. I would have walked off the ground, there’s not much I could do about it” .
Matthew Wade crucial in Australia T20 WC win –
The left handed batter and wicket keeper played a huge role in Australia and its world cup win last year. Wade, hit Shaheen Shah Afridi for 3 back to back sixes to win the Semi Finals of the tournament and reach the finals against New Zealand. Australia eventually won the title by beating their Trans-Tasman rivals in the final to claim their first ICC World T20 title.