Controversy breaks out as Matthew Wade seemingly stops Mark Wood from taking catch: WATCH

Australia and England locked horns against each other in the first T20I of their three-match series on Sunday. England defeated the hosts by 8 runs to win the game and take a 1-0 lead in the contest. However, the match was marred by controversy when Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade seemingly prevented Mark Wood from taking a catch after the former top-edged a pull shot off the England pacer's delivery. The incident took place in the 17th over of the second innings. 

Did Wade cheat in AUS vs ENG 1st T20I?

In videos going viral on social media, Wade can be seen blocking Wood from catching the ball while running back toward the striker's end. England players, however, did not lodge a complaint with the on-field umpire and let the obstruction from Wade go unpunished.

"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're here for a long time in Australia, it would be a risky one to go for so early in the trip," England captain Jos Buttler said in his post-match interview. Here's the video of the incident, where Wade can be seen blocking Wood with a stretched arm. 

Cricket fans were surprised by that Wade got away without an 'obstructing the field' fine. 

Australia vs England, 1st T20I

As far as the match is concerned, Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to field first at Perth Stadium. Batting first, England scored a mammoth 208/6 in 20 overs courtesy of some power-packed performances from captain Jos Buttler and Alex Hales. While Buttler scored 68 off just 32 balls, Hales smashed 84 off 51 deliveries. Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, and Chris Woakes also contributed with the bat for England as they scored 12, 10, and 13 runs, respectively. 

Nathan Ellis picked a three-wicket haul for Australia, while Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, and Marcus Stoinis picked one wicket each to their names. 

In the second innings, England restriected Australia to 100/9 in 20 overs. Sam Curran successfully defended 16 runs in the final over by picking two wickets. Australia were looking good to chase down the huge total at one point in time when David Warner and Marcus Stoinis were cruising comfortably. However, Warner and Stoinis were dismissed by Mark Wood for 73 and 35 runs, respectively. Wood was the pick of the bowlers for England as he took three wickets to his name. Hales was named the player of the match for his outstanding knock.  

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