Ashes 2017: Matthew Wade is more 'Australian' wicketkeeper but should that alone guarantee him a spot?

Not since the pre-Ian Healy days have Australia scratched their heads so much in selecting a wicketkeeper. With the biggest Test series of the year, the Ashes, set to begin late in November, Aussie selectors are scurrying from one Sheffield Shield game to another in search of a reliable wicket-keeper who can front up with the bat as well and resolve their lower middle-order woes. Since the start of 2015, Australia’s no.7 position, mostly occupied by their wicket-keeper, has an average of 20.79 in 31 Tests, lowest among all Test-playing nations, including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. [caption id=“attachment_4004301” align=“alignleft” width=“300”] File image of Matthew Wade. AP[/caption] The primary occupants in the wicketkeeping role have been Matthew Wade and Peter Nevill. The duo have been in a merry-go-round situation since Brad Haddin’s ouster, but neither has put in good enough performances to be guaranteed a spot ahead of the Ashes. Matthew Wade is the incumbent in the side but his last few innings in Test cricket read 0, 37, 9*, 57, 25*, 5, 4, 8 and DNB. In 22 Tests, the Tasmanian keeper averages 28.58, with two hundreds and four half-centuries. Nevill, on the other hand, has played in 17 Tests averaging just 22.28 with no hundreds, and was unceremoniously dumped for Wade last year. There is not much to separate the duo on the basis of batting averages. What puts Nevill above Wade is his superior abilities behind the stumps. Skipper Steven Smith, on his part, clearly clarified as to what he expects of his wicketkeeper. “The pretty important job of a wicket-keeper is to ensure the guys have the energy out in the middle and that we are doing everything we can. It’s just a presence sort of thing. For a captain out in the middle, I’ve always got a lot on my mind, I’m doing different things. So for a keeper, it’s about ensuring that the energy’s up and if someone needs a little pick-me-up, go and get them, go and touch them and make sure that we’re doing what we need to do. Those are important things to do for a wicketkeeper,” he said. He was also pretty vocal in expressing that Nevill lacks in this area while Wade is miles ahead. Being a chirpy chatterbox, Wade has often managed to get under the skin of opposition batsmen, and that is definitely the more ‘Australian’ way. But without runs in the bag, all his empty talk wouldn’t bother the English. As such, Nevill, who made a fighting 60* off 153 balls against South Africa in Perth, a game before he was dropped, jumps above Wade in the pecking order. Several former cricketers, including Adam Gilchrist, have also come out in support for Nevill in the past few weeks. “First of all I think that Nevill … it was tough on him to get dropped," Gilchrist opined. “When that big clean-out happened last summer, I thought he was the victim of a poorly performed batting order. Wade came in because they wanted runs and they wanted voice behind the stumps. I thought it was hard on Nevill to be dropped then.” Nevill averaged over 50 last season for New South Wales and smashed two hundreds in domestic cricket as soon as he was dropped last year. “I think we go back to the guy who’s (the best) gloveman,” Michael Slater has said. “I read some quotes from Ian Healy. Now he knows a little bit about ‘keeping and he said ’let’s go for the gloveman, let’s not make excuses for the top six batters doing the job and expect the ‘keeper to do what Gilchrist did’.” The sudden call for Nevill’s inclusion comes on the back of his superior keeping abilities. But what Australia might need in the Ashes, especially considering the quality of the England bowling attack, is runs from their lower middle-order batsmen, in particular, numbers 6 and 7. The number 6 position is another question the selectors will have to find an answer to before Ashes kicks off at The Gabba in Brisbane on November 23. At number 7, they will most likely play the wicket-keeper. Who are the outside contenders? While Wade and Nevill have been at the centre of Australia’s wicket-keeping conundrum, there are other names popping up from the Sheffield Shield. Most prominent among them is Alex Carey from South Australia. While his first-class numbers aren’t totally out of the world, Carey does have a new-found maturity and temperament that could serve him quite well in a big series. Mark Waugh, the one-day selector, was effusive in his praise for Carey and saw no reason as to why he might be kept out. “A lot of players have made their debut in an Ashes, I did for a starter,” Waugh had told Sky Sports Radio on Tuesday. “Why not? I’m not saying Alex Carey will be in the team, but why couldn’t he play against England?” The other name making rounds is Cameron Bancroft, a not-so-regular wicket-keeper, but a fairly decent option with the bat. In fact, Bancroft was in the running for a spot in top-order last year when Australia made wholesale changes in their Test squad. Since runs from the lower middle-order have been hard to come by, Australia could give Bancroft a go with the gloves and push him into the starting XI, a move that would more than likely boost their batting depth. The Western Australia player enhanced his chances with a composed 111-ball 41 against an attack comprising of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon. Peter Handscomb is another player who has kept wickets at first-class level in the past but Australia wouldn’t want to burden him with keeping duties in a big series. Of all the contenders, Wade is the only “Australian” keeper but the need of the hour is runs, and the chirpy incumbent has too few of them to enjoy an extended run in the side. On sheer keeping capabilities, Nevill should easily sideline all the aforementioned names. Even though Alex Carey, on recent form, and Cameron Bancroft, are outside contenders, they ought to be ahead of Wade in the minds of the selectors if they are to push the England bowlers if the top-order fails.