Matthew Wade Set to Retire from First-Class Cricket After Sheffield Shield Final 2024
Matthew Wade, the veteran Australian cricketer and former Test wicketkeeper, is bidding farewell to first-class cricket after the upcoming Sheffield Shield final for Tasmania against Western Australia.
The 36-year-old declared that his 166th and last first-class encounter will be against Western Australia in Perth on Thursday, the day of the title decider. Wade made the decision to postpone his IPL arrival so he could attend the Sheffield Shield final.
He’ll be playing white-ball cricket for the foreseeable future and will probably be included in Australia’s team for the June T20 World Cup.
Wade, a native of Hobart, has four Shield titles with Victoria, two of which he earned as captain, but he hasn’t experienced any success with his home state.
“Firstly, I would like to thank my family, my wife Julia, and kids Winter, Goldie, and Duke, for the sacrifices they have made throughout my career, as I travelled Australia and the world as a red ball cricketer.” Wade stated in a press release. “Even though I will still play white ball cricket, I have really appreciated the difficulties that the long-form game offers. One of my favorite memories of my career is still donning the baggy green while representing my nation.
“I am grateful to all of my team-mates throughout my career, along with Cricket Victoria for providing me with the foundations to grow as a first-class cricketer, and Cricket Tasmania for supporting me in finishing my career as a cricketer in my home state.”
Over his career, which spanned from 2012 to 2021, Wade averaged 29.87 points while playing 36 Tests for Australia.
Tim Paine, a fellow Tasmanian, beat him out for the Test wicketkeeping position during the 2017–18 Ashes series. However, he returned to play against England in 2019 and recorded two centuries during that series. He was Australia’s short-lived opening batsman against India in the 2020–21 series.
In his first-class career, which began in 2007, he has amassed 9183 runs at an average of 40.81 and been dismissed 463 times before the Shield final.
During a press conference in Hobart, Wade stated, “My favorite and most preferred format has always been red-ball cricket.” “After four days of intensely focusing on a top-tier game, I will miss taking a seat and enjoying a beer with my teammates. I have participated in franchise leagues all throughout the world, and you never get that sense.”
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Coach Jeff Vaughan of Tasmania said: “I want to thank and congratulate Matthew for everything he has done in red ball cricket for Tasmania and Australia. He was always professional and never backs down from a fight.”
“While his career with our Shield squad may be coming to an end, we look forward to still having him around our group in white ball cricket for the coming years playing for the Tigers, and in purple for the Hurricanes.”We know he gave it his best for our badge each and every time he played for Tasmania, and we hope we can help send him out with a victory in the Sheffield Shield Final the following week.”
Before Tasmania’s final Shield match of the regular season against South Australia, Wade informed his teammates of his decision. He partially attributed it to the consequences of his back issues, which have kept him out of action this season. Tasmania was supposed to host the final, but they will now have to go west due to WA’s victory over Victoria and the team’s crushing loss in that match.
“The last Shield I managed to win was the first time an away team had won in a long time so hopefully I can wind back the clock and get it done again,” he stated.
Wade has improved as a finisher in the shorter formats in recent years. In the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final, he scored the game-winning knock that put Australia on the winning team. He has a two-year contract with the BBL’s Hobart Hurricanes.
“I want to be at my best for white-ball cricket, especially in the BBL,” he declared. “I think our Hurricanes team should be, as it is mentioned every year, competing for finals if not championship contention.
“I’ll have the chance to strengthen up, work out a little more, and have some longevity in that format if I don’t play the game’s longer version. I have two years left [with the Hurricanes], but I would really like to play for much longer. I feel rejuvenated.
“There’s definitely not a feeling of ‘I’m not good enough at playing or I don’t think I can contribute enough.'” More often than not, the younger guys have succeeded in pushing me out.”
