Wade puts up hand for Tests
MATTHEW Wade believes he has proven it: he’s the man for Australia’s Test team.
Wade has reinforced his case to retain his Test spot with consecutive half-centuries while steering Tasmania to a Sheffield Shield win against Victoria.
The left-hander appears a lock for Australia’s first Test against Pakistan starting November 21 in Brisbane.
“I am confident I have done enough to play in the first Test match with what I achieved in England,” he said after his 57 not out and 69 against the Vics.
“But if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
“I certainly haven’t put any extra pressure on myself at the start of the season to go out and prove that I’m the man to get picked. I feel I have done enough over a long period of time now.”
In the Ashes, Wade scored two centuries and averaged 33.70 — he averages 29.8 over 27 Tests.
SA skipper Travis Head scored 109 against a strong NSW bowling attack in Adelaide on Saturday and will soon play in Perth in what has effectively become a bat-off for a Test berth.
Head, who was dropped from the Test team after making 191 runs at 27.28 in four Ashes Tests, is among an Australia A team to play Pakistan in a tour game this month.
He, Usman Khawaja, Joe Burns and Marcus Harris will all press their claims in the Aussie A side.
Victorian opener Harris, the Test incumbent opening partner of David Warner, made 60 and 13 against Tasmania. But teammate Will Pucovski failed with scores of three and seven.
NSW batsman Nick Larkin fell just shy of a century as the Blues set South Australia 298 runs to win their Shield match in Adelaide. Larkin top-scored with 91 in NSW’s 253 in its second innings.
Redbacks paceman Chadd Sayers was again among the wickets — he added five more after collecting a career-best 8-64 in the first innings. Sayers took 5-67 in the second dig, his third haul of 10 or more wickets in a first-class game.
AT the Gabba, Khawaja (30 not out) and opener Bryce Street (55*) steered Queensland to 1-167 in reply to Western Australia’s 322. Fellow opener Burns fell for 76.