The burning question in cricketing circles for the past two weeks has been who will be the Australian wicketkeeper this summer.
The Australian selection panel answered with Matthew Wade, and in doing so, consigning Brad Haddin to a probable permanent retirement from the international game.
Wade is a fine choice as the Australian wicketkeeper and will no doubt do his country proud both in front of and behind the stumps.
As it stands, he is the last Australian to score a century at Test level and performed very well in the West Indies. In many respects he deserves his chance at the top.
Wade’s young age also provides the Australian team with the opportunity to really secure a wicketkeeper for the next five to six years, at least.
However, I get the feeling that the selectors have been particularly harsh on Haddin and have not given him the second chance that he absolutely is entitled to.
Haddin’s form last summer was poor. No one can question that. A quick look at the scorecards will show that his highest score of the summer and also the only time he passed 50 was an 80 he hit in the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand.
His scores after were simply not reflective of his batting standards, and in some cases, nor was his glove work. Under normal circumstances one could easily make a case arguing for his demotion.
However, these were not normal circumstances. Haddin was going through some pretty severe personal anguish at the time. When he withdrew from the squad traveling to the West Indies, it was revealed his toddler daughter was suffering from cancer and had been sick for awhile.
It would take a man of with a heart of concrete to not have this affect his everyday job. It appears to have affected his job and no one would or should blame him for that.
From what the general public understands, his personal life now seems to be much more stable than last summer and this is reflected in the quality of his game (for example, he is able to go and play overseas now). This summer has seen an improvement in his form, including good scores in Sheffield Shield and in the T20 Champions League.
While I’m sure Wade will numerous times this summer repay the faith the selectors have shown in him, I find it a little bit disappointing that the selectors couldn’t have shown the same faith in Haddin.
Would the selectors have dropped Ponting, Gilchrist or even Warne if they went through the same circumstances?
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
With Rajasthan needing 25 off 17, both batsmen ended up at the same end but the bowler dropped the throw from his teammate -…
A six-laden, 27-ball 84 from Jake Fraser-McGurk to continue his outrageous debut IPL!
Johnny Bairstow has hit his way back into form with a 45-ball century as he steered his side to a record-breaking win, easily chasing…
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
Xavier Bartlett has been permission to extend his cricketing education with a spell of T20s in England, playing in the Blast competition for Kent…
