Matthew Wade hopeful of returning to ODI squad against England

The axed gloveman Matthew Wade has set his horizon on the One-day international format as he is eventually confident of donning the gloves in the upcoming 50-over series against England on the home soil.

Wade further reiterated he would be aiming to give his best and score bulk of runs to impress the national selectors while representing the Big Bash League franchise Hobart Hurricanes.

“The one-day series is definitely something, I’ll hopefully do well in the Big Bash and put my name out there for selection in that limited-overs space,” Wade was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.

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The 29-year-old Hobart-born left-handed batsman Wade was overlooked for the ongoing Ashes 2017-18 Test series which earlier saw him being replaced by his state-side Tasmania’s teammate Tim Paine who did not play a Test match since 2010 (except the ongoing Magellan Ashes series).

Pertinently, Wade was struggling to score runs for his national side as he further missed on a golden chance when Cricket Australia selectors observed players during the first-three held JLT Sheffield Shield first-class fixtures in the domestic fold.

“Having my name out there for Test selection was a really good thing for my cricket and it means I’m potentially not too far away if I keep performing,” Wade added.

Seems more confident while believing his 50-over form has been good, Wade is looking forward to taking the gloves in the ODI series which will be beginning from January 14 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

“But if I can play ODI cricket again … l feel like I’ve played really well over the last three years in that format so hopefully I’ll get a crack at that,” Wade maintained.

It would be interesting to see how Paine would go as he has been decent behind the stumps so far in the first two Ashes Tests which further saw Australian side led by Steven Smith is leading by 2-0.

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On the other side, the southpaw Wade thrust that he is not sure whether he would be able to don the white jersey for Australia in the foreseeable future while having the passion for representing the country.

“Every time you play you want to play for Australia, but I’m not sure whether I’ll play Test cricket again,” Wade felt.

Wade donned the Australian colours previously in the Nagpur fixture against Indian in October early this year as he failed to impress during the series.

In 94 ODIs, Wade scored 1,777 runs at an average of 25.75. He has just a solitary hundred under his belt which further saw him registering ten fifties to his name in 80 innings.

Interestingly, Wade is supposed to represent Hurricanes in the BBL Twenty20 competition alongside his fellow wicket-keeper Paine as he has was considered as a ‘shocking inclusion’ in the Australian Test squad against the Three Lions.

“He’s the Test ‘keeper so I assume he gets the gloves and I run around the field,” Wade concluded.

Wade has also played 22 Tests and 26 T20 Internationals as his average ranges from a minimum of 19 and maximum of 28.58.