Kane Williamson’s reputation as the nicest guy in cricket remains unblemished. He never sleds, never gives a send-off to the batters, and accepts defeat with grace. But Williamson’s controversial catch of Jos Buttler in the T20 World Cup 2022 has sparked heated debate on the internet, with many even calling him a “cheater”.

The incident happened in the last over of the Powerplay, bowled by Micthell Santner, who had managed to apply a brake to England’s innings with his frugal opening over. This time though, Buttler tried to take a chance, and he cleared his leg to lift the ball over the man at the extra cover.

Buttler couldn’t get hold of it, and the ball looped over yards ahead of Williamson, who took a few steps backward and stretched every sinew of his muscle to grab the ball. The catch looked clean to the naked eye, and Williamson himself confirmed its legitimacy. Buttler was already on his way toward the dugout before the replay confirmed that Williamson had grassed the catch.

The Kiwi skipper offered an apology to the English batter, but fans didn’t like the fact that he claimed a grassed catch. One user wrote, “Kane Williamson is a cheater, Karma will take care of him will be said by no one because he has a cute smile and doesn’t run the nonstriker out like Ashwin.”

Thanks to the early reprieve, Buttler raced away to a half-century, scoring 73 off just 47 deliveries. He forged an important partnership with Alex Hales, who himself scored 52 off 40 deliveries. Hales looked to attack in the beginning, while Buttler was playing with a measured approach. But the English captain soon shifted through the gears, hitting seven fours and two sixes.

England, however, wouldn’t be satisfied with how things went in the death overs, as they kept losing regular wickets. Sam Curran scored a six, and took three on the last ball to propel them to 179. For England, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi were the pick of the bowlers. Both spinners put up a great display of defensive bowling, conceding just over 40 runs in a combined total of eight overs.

Lead Image: ICC