LAST-GASP WADE’S FINAL HURRAH
WORLD Cup hero Matthew Wade has revealed his stunning semi-final effort in Dubai was an all-or-nothing effort as he feared it could have been his final game for Australia.
A blistering late assault from Wade and Marcus Stoinis, which took off in the 17th over of Australia’s run chase against Pakistan, ended with three consecutive sixes from Wade, who sealed his team’s progression to a T20 World Cup final showdown with New Zealand.
Wade, who conceded he was nervous coming into the match knowing it might well have been his last game in national colours, was on a scratchy eight off nine balls before coming home like a train. He finished with an epic, potentially career-altering 41 not out off just 17 balls.
Wade, who turns 34 next month, is well aware his chequered career, which has incorporated more comebacks than most, could have ended with defeat to Pakistan.
“I was a bit nervous coming into the game knowing potentially it could be my last opportunity to represent Australia,” Wade said.
“If this is it, this is it. It’s not really on the line for me – it’s going to be all over.
“I feel like this game was maybe harder nerve-wise than the final will be because now we’re in it we’ve got nothing to lose.
“That might be my last game too and I’m comfortable if that is it.”
Wade said Stoinis’ assault on paceman Haris Rauf in the 17th over and not Hasan Ali’s dropped catch near the death was the turning point of Australia’s remarkable semi-final triumph.
With the required run rate climbing in the do-or-die clash, Stoinis clubbed back-to-back near-yorkers from Rauf for six and four to suddenly give Australia a sniff.
Wade sent Hasan sailing into the stands before cementing one of Australia’s greatest wins the next over with a trifecta of sixes off Pakistan’s ace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi – immediately after the Aussie gloveman was grassed by the hapless Hasan at deep mid-wicket.
“It’s an easy thing to do, to focus on missed chances,” Wade said.
“By the time that catch went down, I was pretty confident we were in a really good position to get the runs.
“The turning point was Marcus’s over against Rauf – that swung the momentum our way and gave us an opportunity to win the game.
“Marcus’s innings was underestimated and took a lot of pressure off me early.
“It gave me the ability to get in and get them late.”
Wade and Stoinis put on 81 in 6.4 whirlwind overs, the duo’s second crucial sixth-wicket partnership of the competition after their plucky unconquered 40-run union in Australia’s hard-fought opening win against South Africa effectively sealed the semi-final berth.
Clearly, they don‘t mind batting together.
“To go out and bat with him (Stoinis) gives you a lot of confidence,” Wade said. “I know if I can just hang with him for 4-5 overs, he’s going to find the boundary … he’s too big and strong not to.
“The reason me and him work well towards the back end is because we know each other’s game so much.
“There was no doubt I was feeling the pressure a little bit, (but) Stoin was saying, ‘we’ll get these, we’ll get these’.
“While he’s around, I’m confident we can chase any total.”