"That looked horrible when I saw it after the game" - Matthew Wade accepts responsibility for his run-in with Mark Wood
Australian keeper-batter Matthew Wade admitted his mistake in the controversial run-in with England speedster Mark Wood during the first T20I in Perth last week. The 34-year-old reflected on the incident, saying that things happened so fast he couldn't understand what was going on.
With the match on the knife's edge, Wood's bouncer in the third ball of the 16th over took Wade's top edge before hitting his bat. With Wood running forward to catch the ball and the batter also in a race to reach the crease, Wade's hand came in the way and prevented the bowler from catching the ball.
𝐎𝐔𝐓 or 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓? 🤔
Chaos in the middle as @MAWood33's attempt to take a catch off his own bowling was impeded by Matthew Wade at the striker's end 😶
What do you think should have been the decision? 🏏
#AUSvENG #MarkWood #MatthewWade #SonySportsNetwork https://t.co/21KmcrNap5
Speaking on cricket.com.au's The Unplayable Podcast, Wade labeled the incident as 'horrible' after seeing the replays. The Tasmanian recalled Wood's bouncer hitting him hard on the top of his helmet and losing control over things. He said:
"That looked horrible when I saw it after the game. It was one of those things that just happened so fast. I think Kane Richardson said to me when I got off the ground, 'You pushed him, basically.' I was like, 'No, I didn't.' And then I saw the replay and I was like, 'Well, yeah, I did.' Wood bowling at 150, decent crowd – at first I didn't know if I hit it."
He added:
"It hit me in the head hard, it rung my bell a little bit, I went to run down the wicket, Davey (Warner) sent me back, I turned and saw point running in. Then I wasn't sure if I was going to get run out or where the actual ball was. It all just happened literally like that. And the next minute, I was on the ground, looked up and the ball was like coming down. So yeah, it didn't look great."
Visiting captain Jos Buttler and Wood looked aggrieved at the time but didn't vociferously appeal for the wicket. Buttler later explained that he didn't want to create controversy, given they are on a long tour of Australia.
"If I had a conscious thought of doing it, then I'd be regrettable for doing it" - Matthew Wade
Wade went on to state that he would have walked had England appealed and the decision had gone in their favor. He explained:
"If I had a conscious thought of doing it, then I'd be regrettable for doing it. But at the time, there's just so much happening and getting hit in the head with the bloke bowing 150ks at you – things go in fast forward.
"Now looking back on it, I can see like all these things happened. 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."
Jos Buttler on the Matthew Wade/Mark Wood incident #AUSvENG https://t.co/VJ1TKPwlyw
The veteran was integral to Australia's successful campaign in the last T20 World Cup. He will want to play a significant role in helping Australia defend their title this year on home soil.