Keeping a lid on our chances
Focus on long-term success, says Wade
THE Tigers are firmly in the mix to contest their first Sheffield Shield final since winning the competition in 2012-13, but wicketkeeper Matthew Wade insists building the foundations for long-term success remains the focus.
Fresh from peeling off his maiden century in Tigers colours at senior level in the crushing victory against Western Australia, Wade senses a growing confidence within the group after a horror start to the season.
However the players will not be getting carried away despite being in a strong position to finish in the top two on the table for the first time in five seasons, sitting second with three rounds remaining.
“We haven’t really spoken about winning, it sounds a bit ridiculous that you’re playing cricket and not talking about winning, but we have been strong on the process of how we want to go about playing cricket for the long term,” Wade said.
“‘Griffo’ [coach Adam Grif- fith] and George [Bailey] have driven that really hard and the players have established a brand of cricket we want to play every week.
“At the moment we are getting it right and it looks like it will be sustainable for long periods of time in four-day cricket. We are not talking about finals, we are not talking about winning the next game, it is about getting the process right.”
Wade returned to Tasmania in the off season after 10 years with Victoria, in which he was part of a hugely successful Bushrangers program which netted five first-class titles — including the past three. And while he entered a completely different environment when he first walked back into the Tigers changerooms following a winter of mass upheaval, it hasn’t taken long to see the rapid progress.
“I was lucky enough to come and play at Victoria with a lot of experienced players and successful players,” he said.
“Even when I was captain I didn’t have to do too much really, everyone knew their games so well.
“When I first came down it was a noticeable change with a lot of younger players and more inexperienced players who were learning what was going to work for them in firstclass cricket and one-day cricket.
“That was the biggest change in the two states. ‘Griffo’ has been really strong about the way he wants to go about it and giving a real direction to the younger players, which is something I hadn’t experienced so much in Victoria.
“He has been really strong about how he wants the team to play and we have been playing it pretty well.”
The Tigers’ next contest is against NSW at the SCG starting on Saturday.