For Australia, the barrage of criticism emerging after the shocking defeat to Bangladesh is still fresh and far from dying down. The side’s disastrous run in Asia over the last decade has been a dark spot on the otherwise rich legacy on the Australian brand of cricket. In the last few years, the Kangaroos have been whitewashed in India, UAE, and Sri Lanka. Another loss and Bangladesh could be another addition to that list.
A big reason behind the loss to Bangladesh was the unproductive wicketkeeping of Matthew Wade behind the stumps. For an overseas keeper, keeping on the venomous decks of the subcontinent with uneven bounce is always a challenge. However, the fact that Wade conceded 30 byes was an absolute disaster, as Australia lost the match by a mere 20 runs.
With talks of replacing Wade for the next Test, former keeper and commentator Ian Healy mentioned of not having a new keeper. Healy was of the view that the other keeper would find keeping equally terrible.
“That’s not going to help anyone,” Healy said, “You risk compromising Handscomb’s (likely alternate wicketkeeper) batting, and I don’t imagine the bowlers would be filled with confidence knowing there’s a part-timer at the other end with the gloves on.”
Being on the same page as Wade, Healy said:
“I’m not looking too much at the 30 byes.” “It was a really difficult pitch to keep on, there were some balls coming through shin high, and others disappearing over the batsman’s shoulder.”
“I can’t ever remember in my career having to deal with that. You always expected plenty of turn in places like India or Pakistan, but the inconsistent bounce is a nightmare for a keeper. “It’s been tough for Wade this year given the pitches they’ve played on in India and now here in Bangladesh, and it might be even tougher for him in the second Test if they play three spinners.”