Warne has backed under-siege Haddin to remain the team’s wicketkeeper, but says his Melbourne Stars teammate Matthew Wade is ready to replace him.
Former Australian spinner Shane Warne has backed under-siege Brad Haddin to remain the team’s wicketkeeper, but says his Melbourne Stars teammate Matthew Wade is ready to replace him.
Despite the fact that Haddin has not scored a Test century since November 2010 and in his past four Tests has scored just 53 runs at 10.6, Warne said Haddin should be given more time for improvement.
"I think Brad Haddin has been a wonderful player for Australia and cricket is a performance-based game; if you perform you play and if you don't perform you shouldn't play, that's the way sport is," The Age quoted Warne, as saying before training with the Stars.
"If you're not doing your job well, get someone else to do it. With Brad Haddin, I think he's doing a good job and hopefully he can find some form because he's a wonderful player," he added.
While Tim Paine will miss the entire summer following two rounds of surgery on a damaged finger, Wade has emerged as the heir apparent.
Wade impressed in his two Twenty20 Internationals for Australia last year and has scored 316 runs at 63.2 in the Sheffield Shield.
Warne said the 24-year-old was ready to take over if asked by the board.
"If his opportunity comes I think he's ready to play. I think he's definitely the next keeper after Brad Haddin, whenever Brad Haddin's time is up,” he said.
"Hopefully he (Haddin) makes a big hundred in Adelaide and he's fine, he can play for another fair bit of time. But if things panned out and the selectors decided to go another way then Matthew Wade would 100 per cent do a great job in all forms of the game and he's ready to go," he added.
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