Matthew Wade to lead Australia in Bangladesh
Wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade will captain Australia in the five-match T20I series against Bangladesh beginning Tuesday (August 3) in Dhaka.
With Australia’s regular limited-overs captain Aaron Finch leaving the bio-bubble in the West Indies for minor knee surgery, keeper-batsman Alex Carey captained the side in the ODIs during the Caribbean tour. The visitors won the series 1-2.
Earlier, they had lost the T20Is to West Indies by a 4-1 margin. Vice-captain Pat Cummins’ unavailability and several senior players opting out led to Carey captaining the side.
Matthew Wade has vast leadership experience, having led extensively at the domestic level with Victoria, Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes. In the absence of Finch, he also led the Aussies in a T20I against India in December 2020 that his side lost.
Matthew Wade to keep wickets in Bangladesh
Matthew Wade confirmed that he would keep wickets. Alex Carey, who is still a member of the touring squad, could still play the T20Is in Bangladesh as a specialist batter.
“I’m obviously wicketkeeping, so the distance between the bowler and myself is a lot greater and that means there’s a lot more responsibility on the individual,” Wade told reporters from Dhaka.
“When you come in and take over from someone, it’s just about giving the ability for those guys to really take ownership of their game, and at the top of the mark, they need to execute.”
Matthew Wade, who generally opens in the T20 format, also hinted that he may slip down to the middle order to allow the in-form Mitchell Marsh to open.
Australia squad: Matthew Wade (c &wk), Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye and Adam Zampa.
Travel reserves: Nathan Ellis and Tanveer Sangha.
Bangladesh vs Australia 2021 schedule:
First T20I: August 3
Second T20I: August 4
Third T20I: August 6
Fourth T20I: August 7
Fifth T20I: August 9