On top of my game: Wade
First Published : 06 Feb 2012, 14:00
Last Modified : 06 Feb 2012, 14:00
Melbourne, Feb 6: Man-of-the-Match on debut for his 67-run knock, Matthew Wade credited the Hussey brothers for their quickfire batting that helped Australia post an imposing target for India in the tri-series opener. The hosts won the rain-truncated ODI by 65 runs.
Wade spoke about his wicketkeeping and reflected on the match in the post-match press conference.
Excerpts:
On winning the first ODI
I’m enjoying the chance to play for Australia. It’s every kid’s dream to put on the Australian kit and walk out at the MCG […]. […] Hopefully I continue the good form and [we see another] good performance from the team in Perth.
On the intensity he displayed in the match
Mike Hussey walking in and running between the wickets like he does was definitely a step-up in intensity. Everything is just a bit faster and when you have to run with Mike, it’s even a bit harder.
On whether they expected a better fight from India considering the last T20I match
India are always tough; with the players that they have got, they are going to play some good cricket. It wasn’t an easy win by any stretch of the imagination. They had bowled exceptionally well in the first 10-12 overs […] It’s never an easy game against India with the quality of players that they have.
On the three matches he has been selected for
[…] I want to do as well as I can in the three games that I have been picked. I don’t want to look too far ahead […] It’s a pretty fickle game that we play, it changes day to day. I just want to live in the moment and concentrate on the next game and that’s what I am doing.
On whether he was consciously thinking about rain while batting
I wasn’t conscious about the rain. When Ricky [Ponting] got out, it became very dark and the clouds came on so I knew it wasn’t good. But I didn’t really think too much about it. We came off and we got the overs and all revised. We tried to get a competitive score.
On whether his six and four were planned
No, not at all. [Praveen Kumar] bowled really well. I just tried to mix his length a little bit. I batted out of my crease a little bit for the ball I managed to hit for a six […] They were bowling an exceptional length; there weren’t any drives on offer or cuts or anything to go about so I had to try and mix it up a little bit.
On coming into the ODI after losing the last T20I
We didn’t speak a lot about it. A Twenty20 game is different from a 50-over game. We [were] just working on what we could control. Before we went on the field, we just wanted to keep our energy up and put the heat on India, so those were the things we were concentrating on. We weren’t looking back at the Twenty20; we just debriefed and moved on.
On whether they were convinced about having enough on the board to defend
It was tough for the first 10 to 11 overs, as I said. Maybe the rain got a little bit of shine on the wicket. [The ball] came on a little bit better after the break. They bowled a lot of overs through their quicks early. Walking off, we didn’t know whether it was a competitive score. You never know against a team like India. David and Mike Hussey batted exceptionally well, over a run-a-ball, so that’s always going to help you.
On his wicketkeeping
I am keeping as well as I have been. To be in the environment of the Australian cricket team, catching more balls every day, things are going really well so I feel on top of my game.
On being picked for just the first three games and on what happens after
I think the environment that I am in is all about the next game. In the Australian team no one is talking about down the track. I’m just going to be focussing on the next game. Everything we do is for the next game […]
