AUS vs NAM: ICC stuns Australia with strict action against Matthew Wade for fighting with umpires

Australia wicketkeeper batter Matthew Wade has been reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) ahead of the game against Namibia in the T20 World Cup 2024. This was because he breached the governing body’s code of conduct during the match against England. 

Australia and England were up against each other in a true Group B match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. The match between the two rivals took place on Saturday (8th June) at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. 

Matthew Wade during the game breached Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. He came under scanner for his antics during the 18th over Australia’s innings. The keeper-batter played a ball from Adil Rashid back to the bowler but after the ball was released, he wanted the umpire to call it a dead ball. 

However, the match official wasn’t convinced by it as he called it a normal ball. This didn’t go well with Matthew Wade as he went on to argue with the umpire over the dead ball being not called as he backed away and wasn’t ready. 

Matthew Wade’s argument didn’t go well with the umpires as the keeper-batter was found in breach of Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. This relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.”

Apart from this, Matthew Wade was also handed one demerit point to his disciplinary record. It was his first offense in a 24-month period. The charges were leveled by On-field umpires Nitin Menon and Joel Wilson, along with third umpire Asif Yaqoob and fourth umpire Jayaraman Madangopal. 

Matthew Wade didn’t challenge the charges against him and admitted the offense and the sanctions, which were proposed by Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees Andy Pycroft. Since the keeper-batter agreed to it, there was no need for an official hearing. 

It doesn't take much to fire Wady up - Adam Zampa on Matthew Wade’s argument with umpire 

Adam Zampa opened up about Matthew Wade’s argument with an umpire. He stated that it doesn’t take long to fire up the keeper-batter. He explained what his teammate was thinking about and while talking to reporters, he explained: 

“It doesn't take much to fire Wady up. I believe that he just thought that. I actually don't know, but he backed away and he played that shot and I think he felt like it was basically the same as letting it hit him in the leg on a dead wall. I think he pulled away and then played it.

“So I think the umpire was like, well, you should have played it, but he said he pulled away. Yeah, whether I should have said, I don't know if he pulled away and let's just carry on, I think the umpire seemed to be like, well, because he played it, it's a dot ball.”

Coming to the game, Australia had a sensational outing with both bat and ball. They first posted a gigantic total of 201 runs on the board and then restricted England to 165 runs to win the match by 36 runs. This was their second win in the tournament.