New Delhi: Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade on Tuesday announced retirement from all formats of international cricket. He played his last match against India in Saint Lucia during the T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
Wade has played 36 Tests, 97 One-Day Internationals and 92 T20 Internationals from 2011 to 2024. He has scored 4682 runs in 225 matches across all formats at an average of 27.38 with the help of five centuries and 19 half-centuries.
Earlier in March this year, Wade announced to call it time from red-ball cricket after playing Sheffield Shield final for Tasmania against Western Australia, which the latter won by a heavy margin of 377 runs. He will continue to feature in Hobart Hurricanes shirt in the Big Bash League (BBL) and will also participate in selective T20 leagues across the globe.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, Wade is set to join coaching and will be part of Australia’s coaching group in an unofficial capacity with his link to coach the junior group.
“I was fully aware my international days were most likely over at the end of the last T20 World Cup. My international retirement and coaching has been a constant conversation with George [Bailey] and Andrew [McDonald] over the past six months,” Wade said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“Coaching has been on my radar over the last few years and thankfully some great opportunities have come my way, for which I am very grateful and excited,” he added.
Matthew Wade was part of Australia’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad
Matthew Wade was Australia’s long-time wicketkeeper in the shortest format, having featured for the team in 24 matches across four editions. He had plans to retire from the T20I format for Australia after the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, but somehow continued in the wicketkeeper role. He was part of the team which won the maiden T20 World Cup in the 2021 edition in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Wade’s crucial knock came in the semifinal match against Pakistan in Dubai. He scored 41 runs from 17 balls to pull off a spectacular 176-run chase against Shaheen Afridi & Co. He smashed three straight sixes off Shaheen Afridi’s bowling in the penultimate over to finish the match in a fashionable way.
