Australian T20 World Cup winner and wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade, on Tuesday, retired from international cricket. He last appeared in Aussie colours at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
The 36-year-old will now join Australia's coaching staff under Andre Borovec for the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan, and the ODI series starting in Melbourne from November 4.
Wade played 36 Tests, 97 ODIs and 92 T20Is over 13 years, scoring 1,613 runs, 1,867 and 1,202 respectively. He started off as a junior footballer, but switched to cricket owing to his height. A testicular cancer survivor, Wade remained in wicketkeeper-batter Tim Paine's shadow. Despite the setbacks, Wade went back to domestic cricket and made a strong case for himself with stellar performances for Tasmania.
He was picked for the England series in 2019, and then made his way into the white-ball teams. He made his mark in T20 cricket, with Hobart Hurricanes in BBL, and soon became Australia's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in 2020-21.
2021 T20 World Cup, Australia vs Pakistan semifinal, Dubai
The defining moment of his career came in the 2021 T20 World Cup, where he was the vice-captain and was assigned the role of a finisher. In the semifinal against Pakistan in Dubai, he smashed a 17-ball 41 not out in an epic finish, to take Australia into the final.
Wade came out to bat at no.7 in the 13th over, after the dismissal of Glenn Maxwell (7). Australia needed 81 runs off 46 balls then, with Marcus Stoinis batting at the other end on four. The wicketkeeper-batter started off slowly, making eight runs off his first nine balls, while Stoinis was hitting the lusty blows.
Wade tees off in style
In the 18th over bowled by Hasan Ali, Wade hit a six and a four to get going. Australia needed 22 runs now in two overs. Pakistan's star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had given only 13 runs in his three overs till then, came on to bowl the 19th over, with Stoinis on strike.
The first was a dot ball. The Aussies managed to sneak in a leg-bye off the second ball, as Pakistan reviewed an LBW decision unsuccessfully. With Wade on strike, Afridi bowled a wide. The next ball would have been Wade's last, but his mistimed shot was floored by Ali. What was worse, the Aussies managed to scamper back for two runs. The equation was down to 18 off nine balls.
Wade vs Shaheen Shah Afridi: 6, 6, 6
What followed was absolute carnage by Wade. He moved across his stumps and scooped an almost yorker to short fine leg for a six. The next ball was a cutter, but Wade cleared his front leg and mowed it down midwicket for yet another six. Pakistan's hopes of taking the match into the final over were done and dusted, as Wade finished off the match in style, with yet another audacious scooped six off the last ball of Afridi's over.
He was adudged the player of the match for his stellar innings. Australia went on to win their maiden T20 World Cup title, beating New Zealand by eight wickets in the final.