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Matthew Wade’s poor form has opened the door for Tim Paine and Chris Hartley to pinch his spot as the backup keeper for the Ashes.
The Victorian’s touch with gloves and blade in all formats has been so lacklustre he has been replaced by incumbent Test gloveman Brad Haddin for the limited overs tour of India.
Wade’s fate was sealed when England all-rounder Ben Stokes had him caught behind for a golden duck in the final match of the recent ODI series.
That was the second time in three innings during that series Wade was dismissed first ball.
His batting woes momentarily took the focus off his shoddy keeping, which had been painfully highlighted in the previous match.
An edge from the bat of Ravi Bopara off the bowling of Shane Watson flew towards Wade offering a straightforward dismissal.
Wade did not even manage to get his gloves on the ball which thudded into his midriff and then the turf.
It was similarly haphazard efforts behind the stumps which saw Wade forfeit his spot in the Test side for the last Ashes series.
To that point he had played 12 consecutive Tests after holding his position when called in to replace Haddin on the tour of the West Indies in April last year.
Wade crafted two valuable tons during that time but his keeping grew increasingly unreliable, particularly to the spinners.
It is arguable that his inability to take routine chances behind the stumps contributed to off spinner Nathan Lyon being dropped from the side in India in February.
Wade’s decline has been so exaggerated that his place as understudy ‘keeper for the Ashes squad is now in question.
Tasmanian gloveman Paine and Queensland ‘keeper Hartley are both in contention to steal his spot.
Paine has long been a favourite of the Australian hierarchy and was rumoured to have been earmarked as a potential future Test captain during his brief stint in the side in 2010.
He impressed with his work both behind the stumps and with the blade during his four Tests against Pakistan in England and away against India.
Among his 287 runs at an average of 36 were a gritty innings of 59 at Bangalore and a more free-flowing 92 at Mohali.
Those calm, circumspect batting displays were reflective of the fact he is a technically-sound batsman who began his Shield career at the top of the order.
In just his fifth Shield match he batted for nine hours en route to making 215 against WA, although that remains his sole first-class century.
The 28-year-old has suffered recurring injuries stemming from the finger fracture which saw him fall out of the Test side.
He missed the entire 2011-12 Shield season as a result of further complications.
Paine had a solid return to Shield cricket last summer, keeping neatly and averaging 30 with the bat while based on the trickiest pitch in the country at Bellerive.
He failed to exploit his opportunities on the recent Australia A tour of Africa, scoring just 71 runs at 18 in the first-class games.
Had Paine churned out runs in those matches he may have leapfrogged Wade and shut out Hartley.
Queenslander Hartley won his state’s player of the year award last summer for his consistent efforts in the Shield and Ryobi Cup.
The most proficient gloveman in the country, Hartley is very much a ‘keeper-batsman as opposed to batsman-keepers like Haddin, Wade and England’s Matt Prior.
Since Adam Gilchrist revolutionised the role of glovemen by routinely destroying Test attacks, every country has put a premium on the batting ability of their ‘keeper.
Hartley is no bunny with the blade though. He is a tenacious player who has often rescued Queensland from perilous situations in the Shield.
Over the past two Shield seasons he has scored 1054 runs at 30.
The diminutive veteran would be a dependable replacement for Haddin should he get injured before or during the Ashes.
But, at 31 years old having never even played for Australia A, it appears the selectors would likely choose Paine ahead of him.
In any case, Wade will need to produce strong form for Victoria in the Shield to fend off their challenges.