The game was delicately balanced, with Australia needing 39 from 23 to win when Wade edged a short ball from Mark Wood in his helmet.
The ball flew through the air and Wood ran to the end of Wade in an attempt to catch it, but the Australian goalkeeper-batsman reached out an arm to stop him.
WHAT A SCENE! #MarkWood was running for the ball and #MatthewWade pushed it away! And #England did not appeal!… https://t.co/Vv379dMntM
— BlueCap 🇮🇳 (@IndianzCricket) 1665328811000
Buttler said the referees on the field asked him if he intended to appeal, but decided to let the moment pass. England won by eight runs.
“They asked me if I wanted to appeal and I said ‘no’. I’ve just arrived in Australia so I thought I’d continue the game,” Buttler told reporters.
“It was difficult because I didn’t know why I was appealing…I could have asked some of the other boys to see if they had better eyesight, but I thought I’d continue the game.”
When asked if he would appeal a similar incident at the World Cup, Buttler replied: “Maybe.”
Wade was heavily criticized on social media for blocking Wood and his former Test teammate Usman Khawaja said on Twitter: “Can’t believe (England) didn’t appeal.”
Versatile Aussie Marcus Stoinis defended Wade.
“There’s a lot going on there when you get hit in the head and you’re running around,” he told reporters.
“You don’t know where the ball is… it’s chaos.”
Dismissals for obstructing the pitch are rare in cricket, but England are versatile Ben Stokes broke the rule when he blocked a pitch at the bowler’s stumps Mitchell Starc in a 2015 ODI against Australia at Lord’s.
Stokes was given after Wade appealed for his wicket behind the stumps.
The series moves to Canberra on Wednesday.
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