Wade confirmed as Aussie skipper

Matthew Wade has promised to mentor Australia's rookie batters, after being named captain for the five-match T20 International series against Bangladesh.

Aaron Finch departed Australia's bio-secure bubble for trips to the Caribbean and Bangladesh, returning from Barbados last month and will have minor surgery on his right knee in the hopes of being fit for the T20 World Cup later this year. Alex Carey took over from Finch in the recent one-day internationals against the Windies, with usual vice-captain Pat Cummins among a number of top players away from the white-ball games. Wade, on the other hand, will captain Australia in what may be their final T20 match before the World Cup. “I'm obviously wicket keeping 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 said to the media. 

“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.” Wade has captained extensively at domestic level with Victoria, Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes. “Where my leadership might come in a little more is with our batting group. We've probably got a younger batting group than we've had on these tours, not a lot of international experience between all our batters,” he added. “The bowling takes care of itself with guys like Zampa, Starc and Hazelwood – they've all played a lot of cricket together and they can take care of themselves” he further added.

The Australians' weakness against the spinning ball was highlighted by spin combo Hayden Walsh and Fabian Allen during their T20 series loss to the West Indies last month, and they will now face a Tigers side led by Shakib Al Hasan, one of the game's greatest-ever all-rounders. The southpaw’s vast experience at the international level and in the Indian Premier League, combined with the likelihood of turning surfaces at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium hosting five games in a week, sees him present the biggest danger. Aussie skipper Matthew Wade is very much aware of this dangerous campaigner. The tenacious Shakib claimed 10 wickets and struck a critical 84 on a spicy pitch in Bangladesh's historic maiden Test victory over the men in Baggy Green the previous time Australia played in Dhaka.

“We're certainly aware of what he can do. He was pretty impressive in the Test match here in 2017. He's a tricky customer … he can turn the ball around and hit the shiny side and try to get you lbw, or turn the seam over and try to get your outside edge” Wade told cricket.com.au on Monday “Depending on what the wickets do we'll have to work out what we do with him. He's certainly a vital part of their team,” The 34-year-old is the No.2 ranked allrounder in T20Is, No.1 in ODIs and the only man to be ranked among the top five all-rounders in all three formats. “He's also pretty impressive with the bat – he strikes at a high average. He'll be a key wicket when he bats” Wade said of his one-time Melbourne Renegades teammate Shakib.