Matthew Wade Needs To Have A Lot More Game Awareness: Ricky Ponting

Former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting is disappointed by Matthew Wade’s shot selection on the second day of the ongoing third Test in Sydney against India. After a solid platform laid by the top order in the first innings, the middle-order and lower middle-order batsmen failed to maximize on it.

Matthew Wade, who played as the makeshift opener in the first two Tests, came in to bat after the fall of Marnus Labuschagne’s wicket at the score of 206/3. The left-hander straightaway took the attack to Ravindra Jadeja trying to sweep him frequently. He hit the short leg fielder, Hanuma Vihari a few times, and succeeded to score a couple of boundaries off Jadeja.

Matthew Wade exposed Cameron Green to the new ball: Ricky Ponting

However, Wade’s aggressive adventure ended when he mistimed a shot while coming down to Jadeja to attack him more. Jasprit Bumrah took a good catch at mid-on and Wade had to trudge back to the dressing room after scoring 13 runs.

Ricky Ponting is furious with not only Wade’s choice of shot but also his naive game awareness. Matthew Wade’s dismissal in the 77th over meant that youngster Cameron Green will have to face the new ball against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah. The former Aussie skipper was correct in his judgement – as Green, playing only his third Test, was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah in the fifth over with the new ball.

“Matthew Wade needs to have a lot more game awareness. In a situation like that, Matthew Wade has been opening in the last couple of Test matches, so the new ball is not going to faze him. But what he’s done by getting out is expose Cameron Green to the new ball, a guy in his third Test, and for mine that is just not thinking enough about the situation of the game,” Ricky Ponting said.

Ricky Ponting, 46, believes that Wade should have given more thought into the situation of the game before trying to be audacious. Australia went from 206/2 to 338 all out as the lower middle-order provided little support to Steve Smith, who smashed his 8th Test ton against India.

“We talk about game awareness and understanding what’s happening in the game. There was a phase there that Matthew Wade had to make sure he was there when the new ball came out,” added Ricky Ponting.

Also Read: Watch: ‘I’ll tell you after the match’: Shubman Gill Tells Marnus Labuschagne After The Latter Tried To Unsettle The Opener