"Doctors hid the information from me" - Australia's Matthew Wade on the injury he sustained going into the 2021 T20 World Cup final 

Australian wicket-keeper Matthew Wade has revealed that doctors hid his injury scan results from him ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup final against New Zealand.

During Australia's final training session before the pinnacle clash, Wade suffered a side strain. He had to take scans to understand the seriousness of the issue.

However, doctors did not disclose anything to Wade after the scans and decided to allow him to play in the final. In a recent media interaction at the MCG on Thursday (November 18), Wade recalled the incident.

“Second last ball before the end of the session, I did a side injury. I didn’t really want to go for a scan but then they sent me to physio, and to the doctor’s credit they hid the information from me and just said 'let’s see how you pull up.' I went and hit some balls before the game and tried to bluff my way through that and I got through it.”

He added that he wouldn't have played in the final if his injury had worsened overnight.

“If I had have woken up worse and couldn’t swing the bat then I wouldn’t have played. I was more worried if we batted first and I had to go as hard as I can and I tore it then I wouldn’t be able to keep and that would hurt the team. In my mind, they would’ve had to strap me to the bed.”

Wade did keep wickets for 20 overs in the first innings of the final against New Zealand, withstanding the pain of a grade 2 strain. He did not have to bat, however, as Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell finished the game for Australia.

---

"Internationally, this will be the last run at it" - Matthew Wade opens up about his retirement plans

Wade confessed that he would ideally want to call time on his international career following Australia's T20 World Cup title defense next year in their backyard. He did mention, however, that he still enjoys playing at domestic level.

The Australian wicket-keeper said:

“Internationally, this will be the last run at it. I’m contracted to the (Hobart) Hurricanes and Tassie for a period of time. I still love playing (Sheffield) Shield cricket and playing for Tassie, but you get to the age where you know it’s the natural progression with so many good young keepers coming through.”

The 33-year old wicket-keeper batter has been a phenomenal performer in the Big Bash League over the years.