Returning Matthew Wade promises to make Test spot his own
Matthew Wade is about to play his first Test match in over three years during the third and final Test against South Africa at the Adelaide Oval starting Thursday. And the Australian wicketkeeper plans to make the Test spot his own.
In 2013, Wade lost his place to veteran Brad Haddin ahead of the Ashes series in England. Since then, the southpaw has been overlooked for Haddin and later Peter Nevill despite scoring a tonne of runs in the Sheffield Shield.
Wade began his Test career with a bang, scoring a hundred in just his third match at the Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica, during the tour of West Indes. The glovesman followed it up with another hundred against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2013. However, his stock dropped quickly during the tour of India, which saw him register only one half century in the span of six innings.
After Haddin's retirement, Nevill made the Test spot his own and enjoyed reasonable success. However, the Victorian was rewarded for his work behind the stumps and not his batting skills. Wade, on the other hand, is renowned as a scoring machine on the domestic circuit -- and wants to make his presence felt starting Thursday.
READ: Australians dominate American college football, up for Ray Guy Award
Matthew Wade wants to make instant impact
Wade, who made a comeback to the limited overs side late last year, wants to make his presence felt on the Test side during his second go-around with the Baggy Green. "I think I just bring (to the Test side) what I bring for Victoria week in, week out.
"Obviously I've been picked for a reason and I'll just come and play my way. I've been picked to come in and be a bit of a presence hopefully I suppose. I feel like being around one day international team for a while I can really lead as well," the wicketkeeper-batsman said on Monday, via ESPNCricinfo.
The Australians are still searching for a wicketkeeper-batsman who can impact the game the way Adam Gilchrist did. Many analysts feel Wade has the skillset to emulate Gilchrist, the batsman. However, his wicketkeeping skills cost him a place in the team and would be under the scanner once again.
Wade revealed the support received from former wicketkeepers Ian Healy and Rod Marsh. "I've done work with Heals (Ian Healy), I've done work with Rod (Marsh), I've done work with Tim Coyle. I've worked with everyone. But in the end when you're out there and things aren't going well you've got to try and work it out yourself and if you don't know your game 100 percent it's going to be hard to get back."
When compared to Peter Nevill, Matthew Wade, at 28, still has age on his side. Could he develop into the consistent wicketkeeper-batsman that Australia need? Or would his latest run with the Test team end as quickly as the previous one?
