After enduring a horrible time on the Sri Lankan shores till the end of the test series, things finally look a little bright for the Australians. The test series defeat against a rather depleted side was a complete nightmare for the Kangaroos, and the ODI series victory provides a much-needed respite for the visitors. The ODI specialists have done their job as the youngsters have brought in some energy into this side.
However, wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, despite doing well in the ODI series, isn’t too pleased. The left-handed batsman, who has been a regular in the ODI setup, was dropped from the T20I squad and overlooked for test wicketkeeper Peter Nevill. In a chat with the press, Wade admitted that he was disappointed to miss out on the T20I side.
“Every time you don’t get picked for Australia is disappointing, but that’s the way it goes,” Wade said. “I’m not a 100 % sure of the reason. Peter Nevill played the T20 World Cup and I was told he was going to bat lower, so they wanted to go with his keeping. I’ll just keep playing the way I play in ODIs. “I feel my game is at a level now where I can contribute in ODIs. There was a period of time where my game wasn’t in order three or four years ago, where I felt I wasn’t contributing enough. At the moment, I feel my game is in good order. I want to get picked for every tour, every match because I feel I can do the job,” he added.
Wade, however, maintained that the Sri Lankan pitches were far from easy. “The wickets have been some of the toughest you’ll get in one-day international cricket, we’ve come from the West Indies, which took a spin. You don’t usually play on used wickets back to back in one-day internationals. It hasn’t been suited to the way we play but we’ve adapted really well. We are playing a few more quicks than what they are, but with variable bounce and reverse swing, we’ve countered their spinners,” the southpaw mentioned.
While addressing improvements in his wicketkeeping, Wade added, “I’ve improved with my glovework over the past 3-4 weeks in the subcontinent. I went to England and kept playing, that makes a huge difference in the off-season: going home or just training indoors or going to Brisbane to get work done. This time, I went to England. I feel like I’m keeping as well as I’ve done for a very long time.”