Wade reprimanded by ICC but escapes suspension

Matthew Wade has been slapped on the wrist for showing dissent in Australia's T20 World Cup win over England, but has escaped suspension despite a poor recent disciplinary record.

The International Cricket Council announced on Monday that Wade had been reprimanded with a Level 1 code of conduct breach after expressing his displeasure at umpire Nitin Menon's failure to call a dead ball when he pulled away late from an Adil Rashid delivery.

Wade was distracted by the ground's music that plays during breaks in play, and which is supposed to stop when the bowler is running in. He argued his case with both umpires and, after that, England captain and wicketkeeper, Jos Buttler.

The 36-year-old had blocked a ball that followed him from leg-spinner Rashid in the 18th over of Australia’s innings. He would not ordinarily have defended a ball that late in the innings, with teammates arguing it was obvious he had thought the ball would be called dead.

"I think he didn’t really have intention (to face up) – it followed him, he blocked it, Wadey just asked the question," teammate Travis Head said after the match.

But the ICC confirmed Wade admitted the offence and added one demerit point to his record. It added that it was his first offence over the last two years.

Given that is not the case at domestic level, Wade may count himself lucky to not be handed a ban.

In September, he was banned for two Marsh One-Day Cup matches for slamming his bat into the pitch in a 50-over game for Tasmania in what was his third Level 1 transgression over the past 18 months.

But that comes under Cricket Australia's code of conduct, which is separate to the ICC's, meaning Wade's record was clean at international level before the incident against England.

Losing their vice-captain for a World Cup game would have been a blow for an Australian side that places huge value on Wade's ability to energise teammates and help skipper Mitch Marsh tactically.

"Wadey is a fiery guy, super competitive – and something ticked him over a little bit today and that's what we love about Wadey," player of the match against England, Adam Zampa, said on Saturday at Kensington Oval.

"I think after the six or seventh over mark (of the bowling innings) he came up to me and said, 'Let's not sit back here, let's go. We can't wait for them to make the mistake because they’re not going to'. Basically stay in the contest.

"That's the beautiful thing about Wadey, having him behind the stumps – so competitive, you hear his voice and that makes a huge difference. If you've got a wicketkeeper who is quiet, whose body language is the opposite of someone like Wadey, you can feel that as well."

Wade's punishment is also jarring given Buttler implied after the match that a dead ball may have been the right call to make, but was understandably pre-occupied with tactical calls late in Australia's innings.

"I think he pulled away and then played it, so I think the umpire was like, 'Well, you sort of played it', but he said he pulled away," Buttler told reporters.

"And to be honest, I was thinking about many other things at that point. Whether I should have said, 'I don't know if he pulled away and let's just carry on'. But the umpire seemed to be like, 'Well, because he played it, it's a dot ball'.

"I can't speak for him, whether he looked up late, but he seemed ready and then pulled out very late and I think that's what the umpire was saying."

2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Australia's squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia's Group B fixtures

June 6: Beat Oman by 39 runs

June 9: Beat England by 36 runs

June 12: v Namibia, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10.30am AEST

June 16: v Scotland, Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, 10.30am AEST

Super Eights, finals to follow if Australia qualify

For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial