Australian selectors call on Matthew Wade to bat higher after Test snub
The Sheffield Shield's leading run-scorer Matthew Wade has been told to bat higher up the order if he wants a Test recall.
Despite having plundered 571 runs at an average of 63.44 in six matches for Tasmania, Wade was left out of Australia's squad to face Sri Lanka in a two-match series.
Speaking to reporters following the announcement of the Test squad, Cricket Australia's chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns explained why the former Test wicket-keeper was left out.
“It’s fantastic that he’s scoring a lot of runs,” Hohns said.
Hohns suggested that Wade needs to make runs higher up the order if he is to be considered a specialist batsman AAP
“It wasn’t long ago that he was in our Test squad, he struggled and we obviously dropped him.
“He was wicket-keeping at that stage, he’s playing as a wicket-keeper batsman for Tasmania and it just so happens we have a wicket-keeper batsman in our Test match side right now and that is Tim Paine, who is the captain.
“As I suggested, it’s great to see Matthew scoring some runs. But if Matthew wants to be considered as a straight out batsman, it would be nice to see him batting up a little higher for Tasmania and that conversation has been had.”
Wade last appeared in the Australian Test side during the 2017 tour of Bangladesh and boasts a batting average of 28.58 in 22 Tests, with two Test centuries to his name.
