Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade officially announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday and has moved to a coaching role with the Australia team. Wade made his last appearance during the T20 World Cup earlier this year. He also captained Australia during their last tour of India for the T20 series in 2023.
Despite retiring from international cricket, Wade will continue to play domestic white-ball cricket, the BBL, and in franchise cricket around the world. He will start as Australia’s wicketkeeping and fielding coach for the T20 series against Pakistan at home next month.
Speaking about taking up the coaching role, Wade said (as quoted by ICC), “Coaching has been on my radar over the last few years and thankfully some great opportunities have come my way, for which I am very grateful and excited.
“I will continue to play BBL and the odd franchise league over the summer months but around those commitments as a player I am investing heavily in my coaching.” the left handed batter added.
Matthew Wade stats:
In his international career spanning over 13 years, Wade played in 225 international matches across the three formats, with ODIs and T20Is making up most of those encounters. In the 36 Test matches he played for Australia, Wade scored 1,613 runs at an average of 29.87, with a highest score of 117 against England during the fifth match of the Ashes in 2019.
Meanwhile, Wade scored 1,867 runs in 97 ODI clashes with an average of 26.29, including 11 fifties and a century to his name. In 92 T20Is, the southpaw scored 1,202 runs at an average of 26.03, with a strike rate of 134.15, including three half-centuries and a best score of 80.
Wade cemented his position in the Australian side with a 41* knock against Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final, which helped the Kangaroos cruise to the finals. Following that, Wade was also selected for two more T20 World Cups in 2022 and 2024, but the selectors indicated that the 36-year-old had lost favor with them after being snubbed for the England tour last month.
