Mark Waugh refuses to consider Matthew Wade a Test prospect at 31

Ever since Steve Smith and David Warner were handed a year-long ban in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year, Australia have seen a period of instability. They have tried a whole lot of players in this time to grant some solidity to their batting order though none of the plans have worked out to their likings. Recently, a former Australian first-class cricketer came up with his suggestion about one player and former Australia opener Mark Waugh disagreed right away.

The player over whom the disagreement occurred was Matthew Wade. The Tasmanian southpaw and the team’s captain was in good touch in the recently concluded Big Bash League in which he played for Hobart Hurricanes. Adam Smith, who played domestic cricket in 1996-97, suggested Wade’s name as a specialist batsman at No.4 or 5 in the upcoming Sheffield Shield game against South Australia at Adelaide Oval starting February 23.

George Bailey’s injury made Smith all the more convinced about Wade’s position as a specialist batsman. His last match for Tasmania saw him scoring 63 and 40 at No.6 against Queensland though his team lost by 4 wickets despite giving the opponent a steep target of 414. Smith also hoped that selector Trevor Hons kept a watch on the southpaw.

Wade averages 28 in Tests, reminds Waugh Junior

Former opener Mark Waugh though was not convinced. In his reply to Smith’s tweet, he questioned Wade’s capacity in the longer format at the age of 31. He said the in-form player could be a force in coloured cricket but not so much in red-ball cricket. He also reminded that Wade averages only 28 in 22 Tests that he has played so far. Wade has scored 886 runs in Tests with two hundreds and the last time he played in the long format was against Bangladesh in 2017.

Here is Waugh’s reply

You seriously think Matthew Wade is a test match no.4 or 5 at 31 yrs of age. Has had a very good season and should be in the frame for white ball cricket but not red ball cricket. Has played 22 tests with a batting average of 28.

— Mark Waugh (@juniorwaugh349) February 20, 2019

A wicket-keeper, Wade himself conceded earlier a year ago that he has made peace with the fact that his international career is all but over. He played his last ODI in 2017 and last T20I even earlier in 2016. The rise of Tim Paine, the current Test captain, and Alex Carey as wicket-keepers limited Wade’s chances of making a comeback and he said of focusing more on domestic cricket for a few more years.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.