Ashes 2019: Matthew Wade basks in hard-earned sunshine after coming back from brink of wilderness

Eighteen months ago, Matthew Wade was wicket-keeping for Tasmania. Alongside him in the slips was Tim Paine. At the end of the match, the Australian selectors had decided to pick Paine for the Ashes series at home despite not even wicket-keeping for his local state. Wade had every reason to be frustrated and agitated. A few months later, the ball-tampering saga had led to Paine taking over as the Australian captain. Deep down, Wade would have known that if he was to wear the baggy green cap again, he had to find an alternate path. [caption id=“attachment_7110391” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Matthew Wade’s ton has put Australia in commanding position in the first Ashes Test. AFP[/caption] At the start of the new season, Wade had decided to give up the gloves in first-class cricket and focus solely on his batting. Half-way through the season, Wade had accumulated over 1000 runs across all formats and undoubtedly the most in-form batsmen in the country. But despite all the runs, Wade kept getting overlooked. The anger inside was simmering and it even got to a point that Wade lashed out at the selectors in public. “I’m not sure what’s going on. It’s just a little bit frustrating that on one hand you can say one thing about one player and on the other hand (say) it’s why someone’s getting picked. If the criteria is hundreds and scoring runs, then pick the guys who are doing it. If that’s not the criteria, then let us know,” Wade told reporters after a BBL game. Add to that Wade was also told by the selectors that he wasn’t getting picked because he had been batting too low for Tasmania. The constant snub also opened up various theories. There was speculation that Wade’s ‘aggressive mentality’ was going against the grain of tidying up the Australian cricket image after the ball-tampering saga. Frustration kept bubbling inside, but runs kept flowing from Wade’s bat. At the end of the season, he was the second-highest scorer with 1021 runs at 60.05 with two centuries and eight fifties. An Australian A tour berth was granted, but Wade was still skeptical, his mind was full of doubts — Was he picked just to make up the numbers? Was he ever going to be picked for Ashes squad? He even thought of missing the A tour to spend the time with his family. His wife Julia, however, ensured he was on the plane to England. “I certainly wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my wife throwing me on the plane. I was probably going to pass on Australia A tour… she told me to go. All credit to her,” Wade told reporters before the start of the Ashes series. This journey was never going to be easy. There was yet another obstacle in the form of Alex Carey. Carey’s phenomenal World Cup had suddenly boosted his chances as the back-up option for Tim Paine. Where to now for Wade? Over the last 12 months, there has always been one answer — runs. Another setback was met with another stellar performance on Australia A tour of England ahead of the Ashes. Wade had now made it impossible not to pick him as a batsman. At the start of his journey as a frontline batsman, Wade knew that his average of 28 from 22 Tests was never going to cut it; he had to improve his batting. A lot of his success had come from tightening his technique. Wade had worked countless hours with Tasmanian batting coach, Jeff Vaughan, to strengthen his defence against the moving ball. Wade knew he could no longer be the flashy batsman. He had to learn to grind, to nudge, to deflect and play according to match situations. All the hard work and the setbacks had made Wade a stronger character. So, despite the failure in the first innings, he was always confident that he could turn it around. Importantly, he knew he had the backing of the captain and the coach. At 205/4, Australia were not yet out of danger. They needed Wade to transfer all his runs from first-class cricket into the Test arena. He started by driving a full ball out of the rough to the cover boundary. He was going to be positive. It was as if he was on a mission. Two and half hours later, he stood in the middle of Edgbaston, arms raised, smiling and acknowledging the applause from a raucous crowd as he brought up his century. At the other end was Tim Paine, the man who almost inadvertently, pushed Wade to look for an alternative if he wanted to be an Australian player again. Wade’s century on Sunday was another indicator that there can be multiple paths to success.