Published: Sep 04, 2015, 11:22 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 15, 2015, 01:18 PM (IST)
Australia‘s limited-overs wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade has stiff competition from fellow NSW wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Nevill for future Test series’. Wade said that Nevill is preferred in Tests but he will perform well in the current ODI series to convince selectors that he should also be given a chance in future Tests. Wade played a match-winning knock yesterday against arch-rivals England in the first ODI of the five-match ODI series. He scored an unbeaten 71 of just 50 balls; his innings featured 12 sweetly timed fours. According to the left-hand batter his rivalry with Nevill (over the glovesman spot) will help Australian team in the long run. READ: England vs Australia , Live Score, 1st ODI Match, Australia tour of England, 2015
In a conversation with cricket.com.au Wade said, “I’ve just got to put good performances forward. Nevill is obviously the front-runner at the moment and then I’m hoping I’m behind him. [We’re] trying to push each other to be the best players we can be so you can only do it by good performances and if I can put enough of them forward than who knows what’s going to happen. But at the moment Nev played pretty well during the Ashes so I’d presume he’s probably going to take the gloves in the Bangladesh tour. That’s fine, I’ll keep working hard and keep putting good performances forward and hopefully we can push each other as hard as we can.” READ: Ashes 2015: Peter Nevill looks like one for the future for Australia
Talking about keeping skills both Wade and Nevill are considered above average wicketkeepers. If we talk of batting then Wade has a slight edge over Nevill. Wade has played 12 Tests and his batting average is 34.61. On the other hand Nevill is new to international cricket and has played only four Tests so far. His average is 23.83. But given recent performance of Nevill in Ashes 2015 and his slight better average than Wade in first-class cricket forces the selectors feel to give Nevill chance ahead of Wade in the Test series in Bangladesh. Wade averages 40.11 while Nevill 41.85 in first-class matches. Recent flamboyant knock by Wade in the first ODI is not enough to make selectors think to pick him ahead of Nevill in Bangladesh. Wade needs to perform on a consistent basis in the next four ODI matches too. According to Australian selectors Wade’s batting is tailored for One-Day cricket and Nevill’s finesse with the bat for Tests. READ: Matthew Wade scores unbeaten 71 as Australia set England a target of 306 in 1st ODI at Southampton
“My last 12 months in one-day cricket I felt like I’ve played pretty well when I got picked for the South African tour and then the series before that [against England in 2014], where I got picked for a few games. I felt like I played well enough in one-day cricket. It was just taking the confidence from that series, even though it was a long time ago, forward. I can look back over the last three or four years and try and tinker with things if I wanted to but it’s more important for me now to really establish myself as a player in the one-day team again,” Wade signed off.
