Australia wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade has been reprimanded by the ICC for "showing dissent at an umpire's decision" during his side's victory over England in the T20 World Cup last week.
Additionally, one demerit point has been added to Wade's disciplinary record, marking his first offence in 24 months.
"Australia player Matthew Wade has been handed an official reprimand for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during a Group B match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 against England at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday," ICC said in a media release on Monday.
The incident took place in the 18th over of Australia's innings. Wade played a delivery from leg-spinner Adil Rashid back to the bowler, expecting it to be called a 'dead ball' by the umpire. When it wasn't, Wade disputed the decision with the umpires.
Wade was found to have breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "showing dissent at an Umpire's decision during an International Match." The 36-year-old Wade admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the ICC elite panel of match referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
On-field umpires Nitin Menon and Joel Wilson, along with third umpire Asif Yaqoob and fourth umpire Jayaraman Madangopal, have brought forward the accusation.
Level 1 breaches entail a minimum punishment of an official reprimand, a maximum punishment of 50 per cent of a player's match fee, and one or two demerit points.
Adam Zampa, who took 2 for 28 in Australia's win, said that Wade had been fired up by the incident. "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.
"If you've got a wicketkeeper who's quiet, whose body language is the opposite to someone like Wadey, you can feel that as well. I love playing with Wadey. He's so competitive… 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, kind of a dead ball. But yeah, it doesn't take much to fire Wadey up."
Zampa was also critical of England's body language in the field, suggesting that they let their frustrations get the better of them - particularly when bowling to Travis Head and David Warner. "They were under the pump and it showed," he said. "It's so hard to bowl to those two in the powerplay.
"If your bowlers aren't summing up the conditions quickly, I guess it can be frustrating, and Heady and Davey took advantage of it. We try not to be like that. We speak about it a bit. Our leadership isn't like that. They are very calm, and I think that helps us as bowlers as well."
