Australia have appointed Matthew Wade as their skipper for the upcoming Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand after regular skipper Steve Smith was ruled out due to an ankle injury.
Sam Heazlett, who is yet to play a single One-Day game for Queensland, has been named Smith’s replacement for the ODI series. David Warner, who had such a stupendous run against Pakistan has been rested for the series keeping in mind his side’s defense of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India next month.
Reacting to the news of appointment as captain, the wicket-keeper batsman said it was an honour for him to lead the country and added that he would look to carry forward the disciplines which have been set, which have gotten success for the side so far.
"Being asked to captain Australia is obviously not something I was expecting and it is still sinking in, but I am hugely honoured by the decision of the selectors and the Board of Directors and very excited about it,"
"With Steve Smith and David Warner absent it’s an opportunity for me to captain the side for three matches but I’m not about to change too much and it’s a case of trying to continue the disciplines that have earned us success in the recent past,” Wade said in a statement.
The chief selector Trevor Hohns called Wade’s appointment as a ‘logical option’ and admitted that they did consider adding Warner to the squad, before sticking to their original decision of resting him for the series.
“We had a few options as captain in the absence of Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner but Matthew Wade was the logical option given his leadership experience with Victoria and the fact he is very much a leader within the group already," Hohns said.
The 29-year-old will become Australia’s 24th ODI captain, when he leads them in the opening game of the series at Eden Park in Auckland, on the 30th of January.
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