'Can't believe' - Usman Khawaja takes a dig at Jos Buttler for not appealing against Matthew Wade

Matthew Wade's obstruction, Usman Khawaja, Jos Buttler (Image Source: Twitter)

England and Australia are currently facing off each other in a three-match T20I series. In the first T20I, Australia were chasing a target of 209 and in the 17th over, Matthew Wade mistimed a ball to find the top edge and tried to obstruct the bowler Mark Wood from taking the catch.

The video went viral on social media and the fans started slamming the southpaw for his incongruous antics. Jos Buttler, the England captain said after the match that he did not appeal as he feared a severe backlash from the Australian media. However, England ended up winning the match by 8 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series.

“I was looking at the ball the whole time, so I wasn’t sure what happened. They asked if I wanted to appeal, but I thought we are here for a long time in Australia so would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip,” Buttler said after the match. Usman Khawaja, the Australian batter took a dig at the England skipper for not appealing on Twitter.

“Can’t believe they didn’t appeal,” Khawaja wrote on Twitter. Many of the fans, who were unhappy with Buttler’s reply seconded Khawaja and said that they should have appealed against Wade. However, England ended up winning the match by 8 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Can't believe they didn't appeal 🤣☝🏾 https://t.co/wZcUuX6Z0M

— Usman Khawaja (@Uz_Khawaja) October 9, 2022

I probably would have appealed: Mike Hussey

Mike Hussey, who took cognizance of the incident during the match, said to Sunday Morning Herald that he would have appealed had he been there. Recalling the incident, Hussey opined that the matter should have been dealt with by the third umpire instead. 

“My understanding is the umpires asked Jos (Buttler) if he wanted to appeal and Jos said 'oh don't worry about it'. 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,” The Sunday Morning Herald quoted Hussey as saying. 

“I'm sure if he was given out the crowd would have got involved a bit there. But 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. Obstructing the field doesn't happen very often at all ... I probably would have appealed,” he added.