Matthew Wade extended his arm and restricted Mark Wood from getting to the ball in the first T20I.
During the 17th over of Australia's innings, Wade top-edged a pull off Mark Wood onto his helmet and the ball went straight up in the air.
Wood ran in towards the striker's end to take a catch, but Wade while turning back towards the crease extended his arm and restricted the England pacer from getting to the ball, which eventually landed safely.
While England skipper Jos Buttler had an option to appeal for obstructing the field, he opted not to and the Australian wicketkeeper-batter was spared.
The incident has once again sparked the Spirit of Cricket debate. Amid the outrage, England all-rounder Sam Curran on Tuesday (October 11) said that third umpires should be able to rule on players obstructing the field rather than require players to appeal.
"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," Curran told reporters in Canberra.
"Maybe that's the easiest way, just go straight to the third umpire, it's probably tough for the umpires in the field because they're probably watching the ball as well.
"Hopefully it doesn't happen too often, (but) in those big moments, it could be a wicket that wins you the game or loses the game as well so maybe that's the best way."
After the match, Buttler had said England might have appealed if the stakes were higher
Curran also agreed with his captain and said: "When you play a game versus Australia and at a World Cup for instance, your competitive edge will be out there and there will be wanting to win at all costs."
"In the moment, you'd hope they take it upstairs (to the third umpire) and the best decision is made because Woody bowled a nice ball there and he probably deserved a wicket and he's (Wade) kind of got a little bit in the way."
The second T20I between England and Australia will be played in Canberra on Wednesday (October 12).
(With Reuters inputs)