Second chance in international cricket is like a free hit, admits Matthew Wade

Second chance in international cricket is like a free hit, admits Matthew Wade

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Australia batter Matthew Wade believes that this second chance in the white ball setup, which started with the ‘A’ tour to England, is more like a free hit for him. Wade further revealed that it was his wife, Julia, who forced him to not give up on his dream of representing Australia once again.

After a prolonged absence of two years and some record breaking feats in the domestic circuit, veteran Australia batter Matthew Wade is back in the white ball mix. Wade, who at one point had given up on cricket, is now all set to don the Aussie gold and green once again and the wicket-keeper batsman has credited his wife Julia for the same.

After a fabulous “A” tour in England, which acted as a springboard for him, Wade was just fingertips away from turning down a national call up, only for the interference of his wife Julia to convince him to pursue his Australian cricketing dream yet again.

"It was one split-second decision," Wade told cricket.com.au. 

"If she hadn't told me to get on that plane and go to England, I would have never played another game for Australia. And now 12 months later, I'm back in all formats.

"(If not for Julia) I probably would have spoken to the selectors and knocked it on the head, and who knows where I'd be now. And I would have been comfortable with that decision as well. It's just amazing how big a role that 10-minute conversation has had in the next 12-month period."

When asked about the difference between batting at the top of the order compared to at the end of an innings, Wade pointed out that it requires a lot of courage to bat at the top of the order and take on bowlers from the get go. The veteran Kangaroo further hoped to replicate his domestic heroics and cement a place in the T20I side, after having already nailed down a spot in Tests.

"You've just got to be brave enough to play the shots you would play when you're opening the batting when there's five fielders out," the 32-year-old said.

"This a little bit of a free hit for me. I'm towards the backend of my career and I probably didn't expect to play another game for Australia. So for me it's about staying relaxed and executing the way I do in domestic cricket. There's no real difference, sometimes you just put too much pressure on yourself at international level."

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