Standing umpire Paul Reiffel gave Australia all-rounder Ashton Agar a warning for blocking the path of the non-striker in the opening Australia-England ODI at Adelaide.
At the end of the 21st over of the England innings, Reiffel had a word with Agar after the left-arm spinner got in the way of the non-striking batter Sam Billings.
Reiffel initiated the conversation by first saying: “Mate, you can’t just keep running across the wicket.”
Agar insisted that he had not done anything wrong, replying: “What do you mean? I’m trying to anticipate the ball.”
Reiffel was not buying Agar’s reasoning, saying: “He sent that to mid-wicket, mate. You can’t [do that], you’re getting in the way.” Agar was then overheard on the stump saying, “For f***’s sake” in frustration.
Agar enjoyed a superb day in the field, first running out Liam Dawson with a direct hit from point and then completing a spectacular boundary save to deny Dawid Malan a maximum in the late stages of the England innings. Malan’s 134 – the only England score above 35 – helped propel England to a final total of 287-9. Only three of the England side – Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, and Chris Jordan – that played at Adelaide were in the side that won Sunday’s T20 World Cup final at the MCG.
