Wade keen to push Nevill for Test spot

Matthew Wade says his rivalry with fellow gloveman and former state teammate Peter Nevill will ultimately benefit Australia as each man vies for the coveted Test wicketkeeper position.

Off the back of a stellar season with the bat and the gloves, NSW product Nevill edged out Wade as Brad Haddin’s understudy on the winter Test tours to the Caribbean and the United Kingdom for the Ashes.

When Haddin withdrew from the second Ashes Test at Lord’s for family reasons, Nevill was handed his debut and has not looked back since, playing the remaining three Tests in England and is the likely keeper to go on the two-Test tour of Bangladesh next month.

Wade, Australia’s preferred limited-overs gloveman, says he’s comfortable with the current keeping situation, and knows there’s only one way back into the Test team.

"I’ve just got to put good performances forward,” Wade said.

"Nevill is obviously the front-runner at the moment and then I’m hoping I’m behind him.

"(We're) trying to push each other to be the best players we can be so you can only do it by good performances and if I can put enough of them forward than who knows what’s going to happen.

"But at the moment Nev played pretty well during the Ashes so I’d presume he’s probably going to take the gloves in the Bangladesh tour.

"That’s fine, I’ll keep working hard and keep putting good performances forward and hopefully we can push each other as hard as we can."

Wade was named man-of-the-match for his fantastic unbeaten 71 and three catches in Australia’s 59-run one-day international win over England on Thursday.

Highlights of Australia's win in the first ODI

The 27-year-old had been Haddin’s deputy in the 50-over format for the past three years, but now with the veteran having retired from one-day cricket, the role is his to make his own.

"My last 12 months in one-day cricket I felt like I've played pretty well when I got picked for the South African tour and then the series before that (against England in 2014), where I got picked for a few games,” Wade said.

"I felt like I played well enough in one-day cricket.

"It was just taking the confidence from that series, even though it was a long time ago, forward.

"I can look back over the last three or four years and try and tinker with things if I wanted to but it's more important for me now to really establish myself as a player in the one-day team again."

Report & highlights: Wade sparks first-up win

Wade says his time out of the Australian set-up has helped him fine-tune his game, but is glad to back in the green and gold and begin the five-match ODI series with a strong performance.

"It's always tough when you're not in the (Australia) team,” Wade said.

"But luckily enough I got those opportunities, to play three games here and I managed to play five against South Africa last summer.

"To be around the team there and still be able to go back to Victoria and be able to work on a few little things (was ideal).

"Every innings you play for Australia is important but at the start of the series it's nice to get away for sure."

Australia’s next match against England is at Lord’s on Saturday.