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I’ll admit it, I’ve been one of Brad Haddin’s biggest critics in recent years and when Matthew Wade debuted in the West Indies in 2012, I thought Haddin had played his last Test.
The young left-hander (25 at the time) had the ability to fill the role of wicketkeeper for Australia for the next ten years.
In 12 Test matches, Wade scored 623 runs at 34.61 and scored two centuries: one home and one abroad.
But after a lean series in India, where he scored 113 runs at 18.83, the selectors decided a more seasoned campaigner was needed for the upcoming Ashes series in England.
Brad Haddin, who had pulled out of the tour of the West Indies in which Wade debuted for family reasons, returned to the Test team as vice-captain.
Although he broke the record for most catches in a Test series, Haddin only passed 50 twice. In 10 innings, he scored 206 runs at a modest 22.88, with a strike rate of 49.40.
The 2013/14 Ashes series, as we all know, was a different story.
Many people are of the opinion that, aside from Mitchell Johnson, the stocky right-hander was the player of the series. That sentiment is hard to argue with; not only did Haddin score almost 500 runs at 61.62, but his runs also came when Australia really needed them.
His only failure of the series, five in the second innings at Perth, came when Australia were in control of the match.
Scores of 94, 53, 118, 55, five, 65, 75 and 28 show us he had the best series of his career. He doubled his run tally from the previous Ashes series, and scored 163 runs more than he had in any other series.
But one good series with the bat doesn’t make up for three poor years with the bat.
Before this successful Ashes campaign, Haddin’s last century was back in November 2010 – in his last successful series with the bat.
He scored 360 runs in that series at an average of 45.00, but the next five series yielded averages of 18.00, 19.00, 33.33, 28.66 and 25.50.
His career batting average is 36.67, repaired somewhat by the last Ashes series, but this number does not match his talent.
To put things into perspective, here’s a stat: on average, Brad Haddin scores a century once every 22.75 innings. Matthew Wade scores one every 11.
Their first-class records are remarkably similar, with Haddin averaging 39.88 and Wade averaging an even 39, but Wade is 10 years in Haddin’s junior.
If Haddin wants to remain Australia’s first choice keeper, his performances have to become much more consistent, especially seeing as Australia’s top order is so fragile.
In the end, that may be the only think keeping him in the team – that and the fact Wade’s glove-work needs to improve.
As long as he is consistent, Brad Haddin is Australia’s first choice wicketkeeper. But he has a much younger man breathing down his neck – a man who was recently named as the captain of his state.
Maybe that has been the catalyst in his revival, and maybe seeing Wade in his place made him train harder.
If that is the case, then I have some advice for Hadds: keep looking behind you.
Track Wade’s progress. If he improves, you need to improve more. If he takes four catches, take five. If he makes a half-century, make a century.
If you are complacent, it will be your downfall.
Keep working. Keep improving. Keep looking behind you.
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