'A bit niggly': England to appeal any future field obstructions

Skipper Jos Buttler opted against appealing for obstructing the field when Wade pushed the fast bowler as he tried to take a return catch, determined not to kick off his side's long stay in Australia for the T20 World Cup on a controversial note.

But allrounder Sam Curran said he'd seen the incident since and would be surprised if things played out the same if it happened in a more important World Cup match.

"I did see the replay ... it's a bit niggly isn't it?" he said after arriving at Manuka Oval.

"When you play a game versus Australia and at a World Cup for instance, your competitive edge will be out there and there'll be wanting to win at all (costs).

"In the moment, you'd hope they take it upstairs and the best decision is made because 'Woody' bowled a nice ball there and he probably deserved a wicket.

"Probably the right thing in the end was what Jos said, we'll be here for a long time ... it's a bit of fun, but maybe it'll be a bit different further down the line."

Curran, who took two important wickets in England's win in Perth, said more responsibility should fall on the umpires in those situations and he hoped similar incidents might be referred to the third official immediately in the future.

"As players, you're watching the ball go up and we're looking at that rather than maybe the actual movements of the players involved," he said. "Maybe the easiest way is just go straight to the third umpire, it's probably tough for the umpires in the field ... they're probably watching the ball as well.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

"In those big moments, it could be a wicket that wins you the game or loses the game as well."

Asked if England should have appealed, Australian allrounder Mitch Marsh said Buttler had handled the situation well.

"Jos said he didn't actually see it, so it's pretty hard to appeal if you don't see something," he told reporters.

"Would I appeal? If it was 'Wadey', yes I would. Anyone else? Probably not."

England will be looking to wrap up the World Cup warm-up series in the first of two clashes in Canberra on Wednesday night. They beat Australia by eight runs in Perth on Sunday night and want to keep a perfect record in tact before starting the tournament.

But they will face a massively different Australian side, with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all rejoining the squad and Steve Smith trying to find where he fits into the team. "We took great confidence and hopefully we can bring some more confidence [on Wednesday night].

"It's just about getting used to the conditions and getting used to our roles in the side. We can look at [the games] as warm ups, but you take great confidence from winning games.

"I think that's the message now ... trying to execute our skills. [Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood] got rested and it will be a great challenge. They've got some amazing players, that's why they're the champions from last year.

"They've got an extremely powerful team and they're exploring different options, so we've got no real idea with what they'll go with because they're experimenting quite a bit."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: