Matthew Wade sets eyes on 2019 World Cup

Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade for long had been in the shadows of the former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. The 28-year old was initially slated to play in the 2015 World Cup at home, but had to make way for the veteran Haddin.

But the retirement of Haddin has provided a glimmer of hope for Wade, who is currently part of the Australian squad for the series against India. However, the Tasmanian has his sights on the 2019 World Cup already, and said that it was his ‘long-term goal’.

"I was one of the younger players when we were looking at the last World Cup and we didn't get there so that's a goal of mine. I'll be 31 or 32 when that World Cup(2019) comes around. That's a personal goal of mine, but there're a lot of games in between. If I focus too far ahead, I suppose I'll miss out. It's just performing day in, day out," Wade said.

BBL is international cricket type of stuff: Wade

The Aussie, who plays for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League felt that the league was a learning stage for many youngsters who dreamed of playing for the national side. "BBL helps that a lot. To play in front of big crowds, I mean 80,000 at the MCG, that's international cricket type of stuff. They(the youngsters) don't have to do anything different to what they normally do," he remarked.

The wicketkeeper made his ODI debut in the year 2012 and has featured in 53 matches so far. He has managed to accumulate more than 1000 runs but hasn’t scored a single century yet. Wade’s also featured in 23 T20 internationals, and has batted with a strike rate of 118.

Despite his decent Test record, Wade had limited opportunities in Test cricket, mainly due to Haddin’s presence for a long time. But currently, Peter Nevill looks promising in the longer format of the game, which meant that Wade had to sit out. But that shouldn’t deter the batsman too much, as he is active in the limited-over format.