Some of Wade’s errors have proved to be extremely costly
Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy has slammed Matthew Wade over his constant blunders behind the stumps during the Test summer and stated that his glovework was in dire need of improvement for the upcoming tour of India and back-to-back Ashes series.
Healy, who was a commentator for a majority of Australia’s Test summer matches, was disappointed at how Wade continuously botched several catches and stumping opportunities.
However, what irritated the former keeper even more was the fact that Wade did not seem to be disciplined in the basics as all.
“He’s not happy at all,” Healy told Radio Sport National. “He didn’t have a good summer with the gloves at all.
“Even some of the basic stuff that he’s not tidying up, he’s not getting to the stumps, he’s not taking returns well, he’s not sharpening up the fielding effort. Even those basic disciplines weren’t being created, let alone missed dismissals.
“Nathan Lyon wouldn’t have been that happy, there were four or five chances missed from his bowling. He’s getting criticised for not taking wickets. These are all the little internal conflicts of an under-achieving wicketkeeper. Matthew Wade says he’s still young and he wants to keep improving, but I don’t think he’s that young. He’s 25.
“If he is keeping for Australia, these sort of things have to be done, and they have to be done better. We’re playing against Sri Lanka, it’s not as if we’re playing against South Africa or England for five Tests [where] we need everything taken. He needs to really get a look at what Brad Haddin is doing and try to find a way to get it done himself.”
Given the fact that Wade has played more games across all three formats than any other Australian player in the past year, except opening batsman David Warner, Healy believes there is no excuse as to why his keeping should be at such a low standard.
Wade now comes in at number six on the Australian batting line-up in Tests, which was a position previously held by legendary wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist, who, according to Healy, actually had some “relevance” to the team.
“What Adam Gilchrist had was a relevance to his team,” Healy said. “He was appropriate to the team. He had a team with a great bowling attack that created more chances than you needed. We haven’t got an attack like that now. We’ve got an attack that if you need 20 wickets in a Test, they might create 18 and you’d better take a half-chance here or there or a great run-out and you might get over the line.
“That’s where you don’t need a wicketkeeper missing stuff. Right now Australian cricket in the Test form initially needs the best wicketkeeper. We need to find out who that is, and someone who is not making mistakes.”
Healy added that he still could not understand why the national selectors had opted to select Wade ahead of veteran Brad Haddin for the Test summer.
He also noted that Queensland’s Chris Hartley was by far the best keeper right now, but mentioned that his chances of playing at the international level were quite slim since Haddin and Tim Paine are ahead of him in the queue.
“I don’t understand why they dropped [Haddin] and it’s never been explained to me or the public after the West Indies,” Healy said. “He wasn’t in great form [and] he had to go home and look after his ill daughter. Then when he gets that right and he’s ready to play again, he’s not picked. I thought that was a bit harsh.
“Tim Paine can emerge without being picked for Australia. Chris Hartley must be sitting in Queensland thinking I’m gone here, even though he’s probably the best keeper of the lot. You talk to the players and they say that all the time. He’s missed out I’d say. He’s 30 and there’s three being talked before him.”