How a good slog helps Wade practice patience

While some batters hit countless balls and bat for hours in the nets to prepare for four-day cricket, in-form Tasmanian Matthew Wade says having a good old-fashioned slog works well for him.

Wade bashed the door down for Ashes selection by piling on runs in all forms of cricket over the past 18 months, particularly in the Sheffield Shield where he amassed 1021 runs for Tasmania last summer.

Batting in first-class cricket requires patience, discipline and calm at the crease, but when you have the ability to clear the rope as easily as Wade can, it takes extreme willpower to rein in the expansive stroke play.

Image Id: BD53B047E2D24277A11272F118E63EFB Image Caption: Matthew Wade prepares to bat alongside Cameron Bancroft in Australia intra-squad match // Getty

That's why the left-hander gets it out of his system before he bats, and the side effects have been noticeable and beneficial in equal measure.

"Sometimes in four-day cricket I get a little bit itchy just to hit the ball, so I do like a white-ball session and just start slogging for 10 or 15 minutes," Wade told cricket.com.au.

"I feel it just frees me up, gets my feet moving and I feel I get all those shots out so I can go into the middle in a four-day game and just bat normally, feel really comfortable and not be searching for the ball too much.

"I've done it a little bit over the past couple of years when I feel a bit anxious before I hit the ball, I'll do a session where I'll just try to clear the pickets for 10 minutes and I seem to get back and watch the ball (better), makes you leave better.

"It works for me, I don't know why."

Work it did on the Australia A tour of England, the five-week campaign that preceded the Ashes.

Wade started the one-day leg of the tour with a blistering century in Northampton and backed it up with the fastest List A hundred by an Australian from just 45 balls against a shell-shocked Derbyshire.

Given his prolific form it was a no-brainer for Australia's selectors to draft the 31-year-old into the World Cup squad when injury struck Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh.

While he did not play in the semi-final loss to eventual champions England, Wade made it back in time to play Australia A's first-class clash against the England Lions in Canterbury, where he posted 114 to prove he could adapt his game between formats.

In that innings at the St Lawrence Ground, he started at a snail's pace, soaking up dot balls as he surveyed his opponents and acclimatised to the conditions.

But once he got his eye in, Wade motored to his century from just 122 deliveries with 15 fours and a six.

Image Id: F164A53D169E45A0976FEBB87A3B43FD Image Caption: Wade celebrates his century against the England Lions // Getty

Wade is in Australia's Ashes squad a specialist batter who can take the gloves should anything untoward happen to captain and first-choice wicketkeeper Tim Paine.

And should Wade get his chance at No.5 or 6 in the batting order, he will not change his approach that has delivered in spades.

"I try and keep it pretty simple," he said. "You've just got to be more disciplined in the longer format but I play pretty similar (to limited-overs cricket) – same kind of guard, just trying to keep it pretty structured.

"I'm a pretty structured batter so just take it throughout all three formats."

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

First Test: August 1-5,Edgbaston

Tour match: Australians v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval