Matthew Wade must put team before himself

MATTHEW Wade made a point at the SCG – “I can bat’’ – but the fallout over the Glenn Maxwell saga has still given him much to think about.

Wade scored a quick-fire 38 against New Zealand at the SCG. Picture: Phil Hillyard

MATTHEW WADE made a point at the SCG – “I can bat’’ – but the fallout over the Glenn Maxwell saga has still given him much to think about.

Wade’s sparkling 38 was just the circuit-breaker he needed after a testing few days but the stigma of being branded a selfish player is never rubbed out by one innings.

We’ve got so used to ‘keepers being supreme team men it’s chastening when one is accused of using his position as captain to feather his own nest and bat himself up the order.

Unquestionably Maxwell was reckless for saying what he did about Wade batting himself up the order for Victoria but it is a worry that even one player under Wade’s captaincy would think this way.

Could you imagine a player ever accusing Adam Gilchrist, Ian Healy or Brad Haddin of selfishly putting themselves ahead of a teammate?

POLL: Maxwell, a hack who only plays for himself?

Wade scored a quick-fire 38 against New Zealand at the SCG. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The unshakable verdict of history is that ‘keepers must be givers not takers.

They are custodians in every sense, mood setters and morale lifters who look after others before themselves.

To a certain extent the batting order question is redundant with Gilchrist because he was such a brilliant batsman he probably belonged in the top six anyway.

But batting orders apart, can you ever recall any instance where anyone said of Gilchrist in any cricket matter “fair dinkim Gilly, talk about looking after yourself ...’’

In fact, when Gilchrist promoted himself in the order it was normally a sign of selflessness.

In the 2004 tour of India when he was so weary he looked ready to keel over he once promoted himself to No.3 in a Test match in steam-bath conditions in Chennai to protect others below him.

The Australian players have rallied behind Wade and fined and discarded Maxwell from Sunday’s game against New Zealand so its easy to see who will pay the highest price.

But this incident is still a good time for Wade to reflect on whether he is delivering all the extras of a ‘keeper that made so many Australian gloveman before him so cherished by their teammates.

Maxwell was relegated to drinks duty.

It’s no coincidence when Australia rules the world in cricket they generally have a gloveman who is outstanding at what he does, a bush psychologist who floats around the room giving out the type of verbal medicine the team needs.

Think 1970s and Rod Marsh, the 1990s with Healy, then the Gilchrist era.

When a team is down the first sign of the wheel turning is often the inclusion of an outstanding ’keeper.

It’s hard to recall an exceptional Test team of any era that did not have a high-class gloveman.

Which makes it crucial that Australia makes the right call between Wade and Peter Nevill.

Gilchrist and Haddin were big “bowlers’’ men.

Gilchrist used to like getting around after stumps to chat to the bowlers and see how they were faring, maybe celebrate their milestones with them.

When Jason Gillespie was copping heaps from the crowd on the 2005 Ashes tour Gilchrist looked in his direction and felt crushed with disappointment.

This type of empathy does not show up in the scorebook. But it was the essence of a great team.

Originally published as Matthew Wade must put team before himself