Peter Nevill surprised by World T20 selection

Australian wicketkeeper Peter Nevill has stated that he was surprised following his selection in the World T20 squad ahead of Matthew Wade. While most were shocked by the news, Rod Marsh reiterated that Nevill’s sharp glove work was the reason behind his selection. Marsh also stated that the Australian batting has enough depth to select a proper wicket-keeper in the side.

The 30-year-old was taken aback when he received the call from Marsh. “I certainly wasn’t expecting that call from Rod Marsh.

“I was expecting to play Sheffield Shield cricket for the rest of the season so it can change pretty quickly. “It will obviously be an amazing experience to represent your country at a World Cup.”, said Nevill

Wade and Nevill have been rivals for many a year. In most cases, the former has been preferred. The duo were vying for the spot behind the stumps for the Victoria Bushrangers side. Wade’s selection prompted Nevill to make the move to New South Wales. Both of them were also picked for the Melbourne Renegades in the KFC Big Bash League.

Nevill however, has stated that the exclusion of Wade is nothing but ‘part and parcel of the game’.

“I haven’t spoken to Matthew yet but that’s really the domain of the selectors,” Nevill said. “Sometimes selections will go with you and sometimes they will go against you so that’s just the nature of the beast.”

The focus is currently on the Qantas tour of New Zealand. The Australians, who won the first Test at Wellington, will be looking for another dominating performance at Christchurch. A win at Christchurch will see the Aussies move back into the no.1 spot on the ICC Test Rankings.

Peter Nevill has attributed his batting prowess to the Ashes Tour in 2014-15.

“I think a lot of our guys learnt some valuable lessons from the Ashes when we had some pretty lively wickets,” Nevill said.

“Our batting since then and particularly during the home summer and into this first test has been really strong.

“I think it was a time where we turned over a new leaf really.

“We had a lot of personnel change but we’ve had a steady team for a while now and it’s starting to feel like a really settled group.

“It’s a wonderful feeling around the group and we enjoy each other’s company and it’s obviously easy to do that when you are having some success.”