Wade reboot finding new ways to thrill

When it comes to blockbuster movies, the original is often much, much better than the reboot.

Think Batman. Think Jurassic World. Let's not even think about those live-action Disney films.

But when it comes to Matthew Wade, Australia's interim T20 captain and middle-order Test batsman, the new version that 're-debuted' 18 months ago is an improved take based on the source material. Think Mad Max.

Dropped from Australia's Test and T20 sides on the eve of the 2017-18 Ashes, Wade shut down production and retooled.

He decided to give up the gloves to play as a specialist batter in long-form cricket, began a carpentry apprenticeship with a close friend and set about regaining his place in the national team.

A mountain of runs followed in the 2018-19 season for Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes – so many that national selectors had no choice but to pick him in the squad for the 2019 Ashes, in which he played all five Tests and scored two centuries.

Having made his Test comeback, Wade has also returned to the T20 team and last night, with Aaron Finch sidelined through injury, he captained his country for the first time.

Wade knew forcing his way into the national team on the other side of 30 would be difficult but it has been done before.

Mike Hussey was 30 when he made his Test debut. Chris Rogers returned for a second crack when he was 35. As was Adam Voges when he first donned the Baggy Green in 2015.

Wade was 31 when he played at Edgbaston last year, but that was a new-look Wade from the one that first played for his country when he was 23 back in October 2011 and played 142 games in the green and gold.

"Yes, I'm 32, and I've been around a long time, but I see myself as a completely different player," he said today.

"Matthew Wade, the guy that played as wicketkeeper-batter, is a completely different player than the one that's been playing the last three years.

"I almost feel like I restarted my career a couple of years ago, debuting at 30.

"No different to guys like 'Hadds' (Brad Haddin) and Mike Hussey, those kind of guys.

"Age is always spoken about when you get to my age and that's the nature of the beast.

"Every game I play for Australia is one that I didn't think I'd get and whether that's my last game or whether I'll play another 50, that doesn't faze me too much, to be honest."

Wade showed he can still match it with the young'uns with a rapid-fire 58 from 32 balls at the SCG on Sunday night in front a vocal crowd that's set to be even louder for the third Dettol T20I at the same venue on Tuesday.

Beyond that, the left-hander has a Test series to prepare for against the might of India, which starts in Adelaide on December 17.

It is a long way from those cold winter mornings while he was doing his apprenticeship, the thought of his international playing days very much in the past tense, let alone the prospect of captaining Australia.

"If you had have told me then (he would captain Australia), I certainly wouldn't have believed you, but this game moves fast and sometimes things happen that are quite unexpected and that's exactly what's happened in this scenario," he said.

"There's plenty of guys that could have done it on the ground at the time which made it a lot easier for me.

"But yeah, I'm really proud and honoured to captain my country."

Dettol T20 INTL Series v India 2020

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, D'Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa

India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur

First T20: India won by 11 runs

Second T20: India won by six wickets with two balls to spare

Third T20: December 8, SCG, 7.10pm AEDT