If Wade has Healy-Gilchrist work ethic, he can be the best: Justin Langer

Former Australian cricketer and coach of the Western Australia team, Justin Langer said that Matthew Wade needs to improve his work ethic to cement his place in the Australian side in all forms of the game.

After the retirement of Brad Haddin, the 30-year-old Peter Nevill has donned the gloves for Australia in Tests, since he is considered to be the best wicketkeeper in the country. However, Langer wants Wade to emulate the likes of Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist to reach greater heights.

“I was very lucky to play with Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist and they always had the best work ethic of anyone in the squad,” Langer said on Tuesday. “I heard Wade say a few weeks ago that Peter Nevill is obviously the best wicketkeeper in Australia. Well, I’d like to think Matthew Wade is aspiring to be the best wicketkeeper in Australia.”

“If he works hard … if he has a Healy-Gilchrist work ethic, there’s no reason why he can’t be the best wicketkeeper in Australia. But that’s up to him if he wants to really work at that,” he added.

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The 45-year old said that he is happy with Wade’s performance in the final of the tri-series against West Indies. He scored a crucial 57* in the game to take Australia to a par total. “I wrote in his post-series assessment … (that) even though he hasn’t had much of a hit, he’s batting really well so it was nice to see him rewarded,” he said.

“I thought he showed real courage with the way he played. He played Narine really well. He showed maturity … he showed really good leadership and he batted very well.”

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“A big innings under pressure, that’s when you earn respect from your teammates, that’s when you earn respect from the selectors, that’s when you earn respect from the public and the media. He played a very, very good innings today and he’ll gain great confidence out of that,” he concluded.