Australian Wicketkeeper Wade Receives Reprimand for Heated Argument with Umpire
On June 10, 2024, Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade found himself involved in a heated on-field argument with umpire Nitin Menon during Australia’s 36-run victory over England in the T20 World Cup match held in Barbados. Though Wade escaped a fine from the International Cricket Council (ICC), he was handed an official reprimand and received one demerit point.
The incident occurred in the 18th over of Australia’s innings, when Wade backed away to the leg side as Adil Rashid was in his delivery stride. Wade expected the umpire to call it a ‘dead ball,’ but when that didn’t happen, he argued with the officials over the decision. The disagreement continued as Wade took a single off the following delivery, with the Australian exchanging words with England’s wicketkeeper, Jos Buttler.
“Wadey is a fiery guy, super competitive, and something ticked him over a little bit. That’s what we love about Wadey… having him behind the stumps, so competitive, you can hear his voice and that makes a huge difference.”
- Adam Zampa, Australian Cricketer
While Buttler acknowledged that Wade had backed away “very late,” he suggested he could have intervened to diffuse the situation. The ICC ultimately ruled that Wade had committed a Level 1 breach of their code of conduct, leading to the official reprimand and demerit point added to his record for the next two years.
Australia’s Adam Zampa, who took 2 for 28 in the match, defended Wade’s competitive spirit, saying, “Wadey is a fiery guy, super competitive, and something ticked him over a little bit. That’s what we love about Wadey… having him behind the stumps, so competitive, you can hear his voice and that makes a huge difference.”
Zampa also criticized England’s body language in the field, suggesting their frustrations got the better of them, particularly when bowling to Travis Head and David Warner during the Powerplay overs.
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