Matthew Wade remains steadfast in his belief he should be Australia's wicketkeeper for the upcoming Ashes series. Recalled to face South Africa in November last year at the expense of Peter Nevill, Wade has struggled for regular runs in the Australia middle-order.
In the 10 Tests since his selection, Wade has scored 263 at an average of just over 20, a run of form which has led to his place in the side being called into question in some quarters. But the 29-year-old retains confidence in his own ability to step up to the mark when England arrives, with the first Test in Brisbane due to begin on November 23.
"I don't feel out of form as such. Yeah, I haven't scored the big runs that I know I can do but I still feel like I contributed, especially in India, and the stuff I do around the team is important," Wade told ABC Grandstand .
'Confident'
"I don't feel like it's a crisis, I still feel like I'm hitting the ball well. You've just got to make runs, that's the aim of the game, and I'm confident in my batting. My keeping was always the question mark and people have asked about that for a long period of time, now it seems to have moved to my batting. So it's to-and-fro a little bit and I need to get both sides of my game working at the same time.
"There's always people coming for you when you're playing at the top level for Australia. But I feel like over a long period of time I've shown I can bat and the keeping was always the issue. I feel like I'm keeping better than ever, so if you put the two together I still feel like I'm the man for the job.
"That's for the selectors to decide but I feel over a 10-year career I've put plenty of runs on the board and can play at Test level. I've scored two Test hundreds, scored a one-day hundred. I can bat, don't worry about that."
Comments
SHARE