Matthew Wade insecure of his Test future despite twin centuries in the Ashes 2019
He isn't sure about his spot in the first Test versus Pakistan in November at the Gabba.
The decision to leave out on in-form Alex Carey for the 2019 Ashes didn’t go down well with many experts. Rather, Matthew Wade was picked as a back-up keeper of skipper Tim Paine. Wade was making his Test comeback after almost a couple of years and it went without saying that the pressure was on him to deliver. Wade turned out to be Australia’s third-highest run-scorer of the series.
The 31-year-old notched 337 runs at an average of 33.70 with two centuries at the Edgbaston and the Oval respectively. The southpaw went through some low scores though in between those knocks. However, despite those runs, Wade isn’t quite secure about his Test future. As per the keeper, he always tends to find himself in the firing line, fighting for his spot in the team.
You never feel 100 per cent safe
Australia’s next couple of Test series versus Pakistan and New Zealand is at home. The hosts will play five Tests, which starts on November 21 at the Gabba in Brisbane. Wade has been fighting for long enough to not feel 100 per cent safe anymore as far as national selection is concerned.
“I’d like to think my performances over those five Tests will have me in the first Test, but you never know. You never feel 100 per cent safe,” Wade was quoted as saying to the reporters on Thursday after landing in Hobart.
I can stand up in the big moments
There are 12 Sheffield Shield matches before the Aussies takes on Pakistan and Wade is looking forward to the first-class fixtures. “Every time I play a game for Australia I feel like I’m playing for my spot. There’ll be plenty of press around the first few Shield games,” he stated.
Apart from the two tons in the five-match series versus England, Wade talked about the 30s he got in Leeds and Manchester. He sounded confident talking about them and said that he has the potential to soak in the pressure exerted by the opposition.
“I got the two hundreds, that’s what everyone will speak about but I thought … the 30s I got in important times in the Leeds Test and the Manchester Test showed that under pressure I can stand up in the big moments,” he added.
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