Quick Answer
Matthew Wade is a retired Australian international wicketkeeper-batter who captains Tasmania and plays for Hobart Hurricanes, best known for being vice-captain of Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup winning squad and playing the match-defining innings in that tournament’s semi final against Pakistan. Across a 13 year international career from 2011 to 2024, he played 36 Tests, 97 ODIs, and 92 T20Is for Australia, scoring 1,613 Test runs including two centuries in the famous 2019 Ashes series in England. Across his full Big Bash League career, spanning Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, and Hobart Hurricanes, he has scored 2,817 runs from 108 matches.
His career is really a story of reinvention, more than once. Wade lost the Australian Test wicketkeeping job to his own childhood friend Tim Paine, seemed to have missed his chance entirely, then fought his way back with two centuries in the very next Ashes series he played. He retired from international cricket in October 2024 and moved into coaching almost immediately, while still playing on in franchise cricket around the world. This article covers his full biography and every major number from his career, including a specific look at his BBL record. You can follow all the latest cricket news and player coverage on CRIC INFO 365.
Matthew Wade: Full Biography at a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Matthew Scott Wade (Matthew Wade) |
| Born | 26 December 1987, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Age | 38 |
| Nickname | Wadey |
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | Not publicly confirmed |
| Batting Style | Left-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm medium |
| Playing Role | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Family | Father Scott Wade, former AFL player and 16 year CEO of AFL Tasmania; cousin Jeremy Howe, AFL player; wife Julia Barry |
| Test Debut | 7 April 2012, vs West Indies (cap 428) |
| ODI Debut | 5 February 2012, vs India (cap 192) |
| T20I Debut | 13 October 2011, vs South Africa (cap 53) |
| International Career Span | 2011 to 2024, now retired |
Teams Matthew Wade Has Played For
| Team | Format / League | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | First-Class / List A | 2007/08 to 2016/17 |
| Delhi Daredevils | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2011 |
| Melbourne Stars | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2011/12 to 2013/14 |
| Melbourne Renegades | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2014/15 to 2015/16 |
| Warwickshire | County cricket (England) | 2016 |
| Tasmania | First-Class / List A | 2006/07, 2017/18 to present |
| Hobart Hurricanes | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2017/18 to present |
| Gujarat Titans | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2022 to 2024 |
| Australia | Test, ODI, T20I | 2011 to 2024 |
Matthew Wade has also featured for a genuinely long list of global franchises beyond his main teams, including Saint Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League, Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred, Joburg Super Kings in the SA20, and Karachi Kings in the PSL, making him one of the most well travelled Australian cricketers of his generation.
Who Is Matthew Wade and How Did His Career Start?
Matthew Scott Wade (Matthew Wade) was born on 26 December 1987 in Hobart, Tasmania. He bats left-handed and bowls right-arm medium on rare occasions, and built his entire career as a wicketkeeper first and batter second.
According to ESPNcricinfo’s profile of his career, Wade was a genuinely talented junior footballer growing up, but at just 170 cm, he decided he was too short to build a career in Australian rules football, despite his own father Scott Wade having played the sport professionally for Hawthorn before later serving 16 years as CEO of AFL Tasmania. He chose cricket instead, and represented Tasmania in junior cricket while also vice-captaining the Tassie Mariners in junior football before making his switch permanent.
His path to the Australian team moved through Victoria, where he played First-Class and List A cricket from 2007-08. One notable early controversy came in 2013, when he was suspended for a Sheffield Shield match and fined 50 percent of his match fee after being found guilty of tampering with the pitch during a game.
How Did Matthew Wade Lose and Then Regain the Australian Wicketkeeping Job?
This is genuinely the central story of his career, and it is worth telling properly. Matthew Wade made his Test debut on 7 April 2012 against West Indies, and showed real early promise, scoring two centuries in his first ten Tests. But competition for the wicketkeeping spot in the Australian Test side was fierce, and when his own childhood friend Tim Paine was handed the gloves for the 2017-18 Ashes series, it looked, in ESPNcricinfo’s own words, like Wade had missed the bus entirely.
Rather than accept that as the end of his Test career, Wade moved back to Tasmania and dominated state cricket for two full seasons. That form earned him a recall for the 2019 Ashes series in England, and he delivered in spectacular fashion, scoring two centuries in that series, a genuinely remarkable response to being overlooked just two years earlier.
How Did Matthew Wade Become a T20 World Cup Winner?
His white ball career took a similarly dramatic turn for the better. Off the back of dominant BBL seasons opening the batting for Hobart Hurricanes, Wade earned a brief, successful stint as Australia’s T20I opener while David Warner was unavailable, and that form made him Australia’s first choice T20I wicketkeeper in 2020-21. He also captained the T20I side in two separate series while regular captain Aaron Finch was out.
He was named vice-captain for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, recast by that point as a finisher rather than an opener. It was in that finishing role that he produced what is widely regarded as the most important innings of that entire World Cup, in the semi final against Pakistan, helping steer Australia to the final, which they went on to win. In December 2020, he had also captained Australia for the first time in international cricket, adding leadership experience to an already accomplished résumé.
When and Why Did Matthew Wade Retire From International Cricket?
Wade’s international career wound down in stages. He announced his retirement from red ball cricket on 15 March 2024, immediately after the final match of the 2023-24 Sheffield Shield season, bringing his Test career to a close on his own terms. His full retirement from all international cricket followed later in 2024, with his last T20I coming against India on 24 June 2024.
According to Grokipedia’s account of his transition, he moved into coaching almost immediately, serving as wicketkeeping and fielding coach for Australia’s T20I series against Pakistan that same October, just months after playing his final international match himself. He has also taken on a role as assistant coach for Gujarat Titans in the IPL, alongside mentoring responsibilities within Tasmania’s domestic structure, while still continuing to play on as a captain and player for both Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes.
What Records and Honours Does Matthew Wade Hold?
- Vice-captain of Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup winning squad, and the player behind the tournament’s defining semi final innings against Pakistan
- Two centuries in the 2019 Ashes series, a stunning response to losing the Test wicketkeeping job two years earlier
- Captained Australia in both Test and T20I cricket, including two full T20I series in charge while Aaron Finch was unavailable
- 2,817 BBL runs across 108 matches, spanning three different clubs over more than a decade
- 13 year international career, from his T20I debut in 2011 through to his full retirement in 2024
- Immediate transition into international coaching, taking on Australia’s wicketkeeping and fielding coach role within months of retiring as a player
What Do Matthew Wade’s Full Career Numbers Look Like?
The figures below are taken from his most recent official career statistics across every format.
Batting Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Highest Score | 100s | 50s | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 36 | 63 | 1,613 | 29.87 | 117 | 4 | 5 | 50.36 |
| ODI | 97 | 83 | 1,867 | 26.29 | 100* | 1 | 11 | 81.60 |
| T20I | 92 | 68 | 1,202 | 26.13 | 80 | 0 | 3 | 134.15 |
| First-Class (FC) | 166 | 264 | 9,187 | 40.47 | 152 | 19 | 54 | – |
| List A | 194 | 179 | 5,532 | 33.57 | 120 | 6 | 36 | 84.10 |
| T20 (Leagues & Domestic) | 287 | 251 | 5,595 | 26.73 | 130* | 1 | 29 | 135.50 |
| U19 ODI (Youth International) | 5 | 4 | 45 | 11.25 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 66.18 |
Bowling Record
| Format | Matches | Balls Bowled | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 36 | 300 | – | – | 5.60 | – |
| ODI | 97 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| T20I | 92 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| First-Class (FC) | 166 | 520 | 8 | 44.25 | 3.51 | 3/13 |
| List A | 194 | 60 | – | – | 9.00 | – |
| T20 (Leagues & Domestic) | 287 | 180 | – | – | 9.66 | – |
| U19 ODI | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
Wade’s bowling record includes a genuinely famous moment. He once bowled an over in Test cricket during which specialist batter Phil Hughes took over the wicketkeeping gloves, a rare and memorable role reversal that Cricket Australia’s own archives still feature.
Fielding and Wicketkeeping Record
| Format | Catches (As Keeper) | Stumpings | Catches (As Fielder) | Total Dismissals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 63 | 11 | 1 | 74 |
| ODI | 108 | 9 | 0 | 117 |
| T20I | 58 | 6 | 0 | 64 |
| First-Class (FC) | 442 | 21 | 15 | 463 |
| List A | 210 | 28 | 13 | 238 |
| T20 (Leagues & Domestic) | 162 | 44 | 1 | 206 |
| U19 ODI | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
His 117 ODI dismissals and 74 Test dismissals confirm his standing as one of the most experienced wicketkeepers to play for Australia in the modern era, on top of a genuinely enormous body of domestic and franchise keeping work.
What Does Matthew Wade’s BBL Record Look Like Separately?
The T20 (Leagues & Domestic) row above combines his BBL career with every other T20 league he has played in around the world. Based on Cricstralia’s dedicated BBL leaderboard, here is his record narrowed down to just the Big Bash League, across all three of his clubs.
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | Highest Score | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 108 | 2,817 | ~31 | ~140 | 130* | 1 | 19 |
A closer, more detailed breakdown specifically for his time with Hobart Hurricanes, based on AdvanceCricket’s tracking of that club stint, shows 88 matches, 2,446 runs at an average of 32.61 and a strike rate of 146.70, including 1 century and 17 half-centuries, plus 8 Player of the Match awards along the way. That means his earlier years with Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades account for the remaining 20 matches and roughly 371 runs of his overall BBL total. For the most current, fully updated BBL numbers, his live profile on ESPNcricinfo is the best place to check.
FAQs
Has Matthew Wade played international cricket for Australia?
Yes, extensively. He played 36 Tests, 97 ODIs, and 92 T20Is for Australia between 2011 and 2024, before retiring from international cricket in October 2024.
What is Matthew Wade’s most famous cricket moment?
His innings as a finisher in the semi final of the 2021 T20 World Cup against Pakistan, widely regarded as the most important knock of that entire tournament, which Australia went on to win.
What is Matthew Wade’s height and weight?
He stands at 1.70 metres, or 5 feet 7 inches. His weight has not been publicly confirmed in available sources.
Why did Matthew Wade lose his place as Australia’s Test wicketkeeper?
Competition for the role was intense, and his childhood friend Tim Paine was handed the gloves for the 2017-18 Ashes series. Wade responded by dominating Tasmanian domestic cricket for two seasons before earning a recall.
What is Matthew Wade’s BBL record?
2,817 runs from 108 matches across Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, and Hobart Hurricanes, including a highest score of 130 not out.
Is Matthew Wade still involved in cricket after retiring internationally?
Yes. He works as a coach, including a stint as Australia’s wicketkeeping and fielding coach and an ongoing assistant coaching role with Gujarat Titans, while still playing on and captaining both Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes.
Did Matthew Wade ever captain Australia?
Yes. He captained Australia’s T20I side for the first time in December 2020, and led the team again across two further series while regular captain Aaron Finch was unavailable.
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