Where is the need to bring in Brad Haddin (left) for Matthew Wade (right)? © Getty Images
Australian captain Michael Clarke, vice captain Shane Watson and even chairman of selectors John Inverarity have all said that Brad Haddin is in the mix for selection for the Australian Test squad.
To me that’s a very bad idea.
· First off, there is his age. At 34 years of age, Brad Haddin is far from young. Indeed, he is turning 35 this week. That is just about retirement age for professional cricketers. Matthew Wade, in comparison, is 24. Wade should be getting better, while Haddin should be tapering off. If all things were equal, one would pick a 24-year old ahead of the 34-year old - every time.
· Next, Wade is in great form. In his last match he scored 89 and took seven catches. He averages 39.60 in his three Tests and has done well behind the wicket.
· Indeed, Wade is a far superior ’keeper. He is clearly the best ’keeper in Australia, while Haddin -at best – is No 4. Wade has always been first or second best - most dismissals in a season and most dismissals per match.
· When Wade first started out, Haddin was a better batsman, right now Wade is superior.
· Wade is in the team. Why drop him?
· Haddin was left out the team due to his poor form. Granted that he finally left due to family reasons, but he was likely to be dropped anyways. If you are dropped due to poor form, you need to do something astounding to return. Haddin hasn't done that.
· Haddin's recent form has been good. He scored 114 and seven in the last First-class match - and has followed that up with some decent scores in T20s. But in his seven First-class matches before that he failed to get to double figures even once!
As far as having Haddin in as a specialist batsman, he isn't good enough, not by a long shot. At his peak, Haddin could have played in T20s and even ODIs, but now there is no justification for him to play in any version.
(Adrian Meredith, an Australian from Melbourne, has been very passionate about cricket since he was seven years old. Because of physical challenges he could not pursue playing the game he so dearly loved. He loves all kinds of cricket - from Tests, ODIs, T20 - at all levels and in all countries and writes extensively on the game)
