Matthew Wade has been named Australia captain for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Bangladesh, starting on Tuesday, August 3, in Dhaka after regular the skipper Aaron Finch returned home to undergo surgery on a knee injury that he sustained last month.
Ahead of the Bangladesh T20Is, the wicketkeeper-batsman has confirmed that he would be batting in the middle-order and likely to continue to bat there in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021. However, Wade said it is challenging to go back into the middle order but is looking forward to the challenge.
Well, Mitchell Marsh's success in the West Indies, where he scored 219 runs at No. 3, might force Wade to find a spot lower down the order, as Australia will try out options in Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, Wade stated: “It's something I'm looking forward to. I've been up the top for three years and feel like any time called upon I can do a good job up there, so to go back into the middle order is a challenge I'm excited to do. It doesn't faze me too much, whatever needs to be done.”
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The left-hander further added, “Then once the World Cup comes around, whether that means I go back up the top or stay in the middle order we aren't 100 percent sure. The way Mitch has come out and played at No. 3 that's certainly another option for us at the top. He could open as well if we needed him to. So we are probably rolling through a few different scenarios of where guys can fit in the best team come to the World Cup.”
Wade batted in the middle order last year in South Africa and at No. 6 in the last match against the West Indies, but most of his innings in his T20I career have been opening, batting at No. 4 or lower, thus he is confident to adapt to the middle order in the upcoming T20I series in Bangladesh.
Notably, the stand-in skipper has a strike rate of 117.40 batting at No. 4 and below, while has 137.61-144.57 when he batted in the top three for Australia in the shorter format of the game.
The 33-year-old further explained, “Thankfully I've played for Australia in the middle order a lot, especially in one-day cricket and even T20 have probably played 50-50 of my innings. It's probably more of a chance to get there now and get some more work in, I haven't done it for three years so it certainly has its challenges compared to opening the batting but it's a good opportunity to do it.
I'll find a way to make it work and win some games. Things I probably didn't have seven or eight years ago in my game I feel like I've added -- laps and things like that -- which are really important towards the back end. Feel like I have a few more tricks than I had a few years ago and the advantage in these five games is that I can get in there and see what works and what doesn't.”
Wade believes that Australia has to find a solution that works for the players ahead of the T20 World Cup as they continue to try the middle-order options. He signed off by saying, “We've got guys who aren't here who can come in and do a really good job. We all know what Maxi [Glenn Maxwell] can do towards the end of an innings. We'll find someone to do a good job come to the World Cup.”
(ESPNcricinfo inputs)
