Australia claims Caribbean tri-series in Barbados

Justin Langer says wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade could usurp Peter Nevill as the best gloveman in Australia – if he works harder at training.

Wade scored a unbeaten half-century in Australia's ODI tri-series final victory against the West Indies in Barbados, an innings that was crucial to both his team's win and also his own career after a disappointing six months that included being axed for the World T20 in India.

The left-hander's opportunities with the bat on this tour have been limited and he took his chance in the final with a 52-ball knock of 57no, guiding Australia from dangerous territory at 6-173 to a match-winning total of 270.

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The performance may have earned him a reprieve for the upcoming ODI series in Sri Lanka, with the white-ball reputation of Test 'keeper Nevill enhanced after he was handed the gloves for the global T20 tournament in March.

Nevill is widely acknowledged as the best keeper in Australia, including by Wade himself, but Langer says that could change if Victoria's skipper adopts a thirst for training that spurred on two of Australia's greatest-ever glovemen.

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"I was very lucky to play with Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist and they always had the best work ethic of anyone in the squad," Langer said.

"I heard (Wade) say a few weeks ago that Peter Nevill is obviously the best wicketkeeper in Australia. Well, I'd like to think Matthew Wade is aspiring to be the best wicketkeeper in Australia.

"If he works hard ... if he has a Healy-Gilchrist work ethic, there's no reason why he can't be the best wicketkeeper in Australia.

"But that's up to him if he wants to really work at that."

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Langer said an improved work ethic was one of his key recommendations for Wade in his post-series assessment, which is distributed to each player's state coach as well as Cricket Australia's High Performance department.

Wade missed some chances during the series but was relatively tidy behind the stumps, conceding no byes in six completed matches in conditions that are regarded as some of the most challenging in the world.

Captain Steve Smith praised his keeper for his match-winning knock and also for his attitude since being dropped from the T20 side.

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"No doubt he was disappointed about not keeping in the (World T20)," Smith said. "You've got to be disappointed with that.

"He's been great around the group, he's very vocal, he gets the guys up and helps drive the energy. I think that's what the keeper needs to do and he's done that very well throughout this series.

"He's missed a couple of opportunities, but it is a tough place to keep. There was a lot of balls that were bouncing before him and the ball was reversing and spinning quite a bit.

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"I'm sure he'll continue to work on his keeping as much as he can.

"I've watched him in the nets and he's probably hitting the ball as well as anyone. I wasn't surprised that he was able to do what he did. I'm pleased for him."

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While Wade's glovework remains a work in progress, his innings at Kensington Oval provided a reminder of why he's been Australia's preferred ODI keeper-batsman since Brad Haddin retired following last year's World Cup.

The left-hander held off Windies spinner Sunil Narine early in his innings, against whom he'd been dismissed four times in 38 balls previously in his career, before improvising late on to reach or go over the boundary rope five times, including a towering six from the final ball of the innings.

Wade hits out in the tri-series final // Getty

Wade added partnerships of 37, 27 and 26 with Mitchell Starc (seventh wicket), Nathan Coulter-Nile (eighth wicket) and Adam Zampa (ninth wicket) respectively, only the second time in Australia's ODI history that the stands for those three wickets all exceeded 25 runs.

Langer identified a centre-wicket practice session in the lead-up to the final, when Wade launched Australia's frontline bowlers to all parts of the picturesque 3W's Oval, as an example of the left-hander's undoubted ability to turn a game with the bat.

"I wrote in his post-series assessment ... (that) even though he hasn't had much of a hit, he's batting really well so it was nice to see him rewarded," the caretaker coach said.

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"I thought he showed real courage with the way he played. He played Narine really well. He showed maturity ... he showed really good leadership and he batted very well.

"(A) big innings under pressure, that's when you earn respect from your teammates, that's when you earn respect from the selectors, that's when you earn respect from the public and the media.

"He played a very, very good innings today and he'll gain great confidence out of that."