Chappell was left fuming at Wade’s Test recall
FORMER Australian selector Greg Chappell has revealed his private fury over the day gloveman Matthew Wade was recalled to add “mongrel’’ to an ailing Test team.
Chappell was overruled by his fellow selectors when Wade was one of five players called into the Test team after a sorrowful loss to South Africa in Hobart in 2016 which was one of the lowest points in recent Australian cricket history.
In his new book Not Out (Hardie Grant), Chappell talks about how Australia lost its moral compass in the countdown to the South Africa ball tampering affair in 2018 where a win-at-all-costs attitude triggered a lapse in behavioural standards.
Wade’s recall for the daynight Test in Adelaide meant the capable but less combative Peter Nevill would not play Test cricket again.
Chappell said Wade was recalled because the team’s leadership reckoned he was the loudest gloveman with “the most mongrel … whatever that means.’’
“I stated ‘that’s never been a criteria for picking a Test team that I have ever heard of, and we shouldn’t be starting now,’’ Chappell wrote.
“Wicketkeepers are very important parts of a team. But not for their yapping, rather for their ability and commitment. One of the best teams that played the game, the West Indies, never said a word. They didn’t have to.’’
Chappell was so angry with the decision to recall Wade that, the instant the selection meeting was over, he walked into the office of Cricket Australia High Performance boss Pat Howard and warned of dark days ahead.
Wade was dropped for his old backyard rival, fellow Tasmanian Tim Paine, but later returned to Test cricket as a specialist batsman.