Watch: Aaron Finch abuses umpire in frustration during T20I against England

Australia and England are finalising their preparations for the 20-20 World Cup with a three-match T20I series in Australia. The first match of the series was marred by a controversial incident involving Matthew Wade and Mark Wood. The incident sparked the debate around Spirit of Cricket as Wade was seen blocking Wood’s path to complete a catch. There was another incident involving Australian Captain Aaron Finch in the match which was overshadowed by the ‘Wade-Wood’ controversy.

The incident took place in the ninth over of the first innings bowled by Cameron Green. Jos Buttler tried to upper-cut a slower bouncer as Matthew Wade dived forward to collect the ball. The Wicketkeeper immediately appealed for a caught behind dismissal but the on-field umpires seemed disinterested.

With England opener wreaking havoc, Finch was desperate for a wicket so he thought about reviewing the decision. Finch came forward to ask the umpire whether the ball was carried safely into Wade’s gloves.

However, the umpire took some time to respond to Finch’s query and by that time, the 15-second-timer to review the decision was finished. After getting to know that the ball had carried to the wicket-keeper Finch was left enraged by the entire incident and walked back to his position frustrated.

As he walked back to his fielding position, Finch was heard blurting swearing at the umpire saying, “Could have been nice to know inside 15 f***ing seconds.”

Watch the video here:

"It would have been f***ing nice to know in time."

Aaron Finch swearing at the umpire against England, after asking whether a ball had carried to Matthew Wade as he considered a review. Finch has been given an official reprimand by the match referee, but avoided a fine. pic.twitter.com/Pm3AR1VmaR

— Jack Snape (@jacksongs) October 10, 2022

Finch was judged to have broken the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel’s Article 2.3 through this occurrence. The phrase “use of an audible obscenity during an international match” is covered by the rule.

As a result, Aaron Finch received a formal warning from the ICC and one demerit point. Given that it was his first infraction in 24 months, Finch was spared the punishment of paying his match money. The Australian captain agreed to the penalty that the Elite Panel of Match Referees had suggested. As a result, there was no formal hearing.

Coming back to the match, England successfully defended their total of 208 winning the match by eight runs and taking 1-0 lead in the series.