From ball tampering unsportsmanlike bowls, our cricketers have had their fair share of scandals. What are the worst in Aussie history?

OPINION

If Mark Waugh was still a selector, Matthew Wade would be trying to gain citizenship in another country.

The Fox Cricket commentator no longer has a say in who makes the national side after quitting his post as a selector in May last year, but if his former colleagues share his views then the Tasmanian should be terrified.

At 31, some believe Wade has matured and reached the peak of his powers. But not Waugh, who is adamant Wade’s time has passed him by.

Taking to Twitter last night responding to a comment that implored chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns to keep an eye on Wade’s next Shield outing because he was going to be promoted up the order, Waugh slapped down any notion he should be considered for Australian Test selection.

You seriously think Matthew Wade is a test match no.4 or 5 at 31 yrs of age. Has had a very good season and should be in the frame for white ball cricket but not red ball cricket. Has played 22 tests with a batting average of 28. — Mark Waugh (@juniorwaugh349) February 20, 2019

Wade has been piling on runs in domestic cricket and calling for the chance to represent Australia again after playing his last Test against Bangladesh in 2017. But at a time when the country’s thin batting stocks have been exposed by Steve Smith and David Warner’s enforced absence, he’s been unable to get a look in.

Wade is the leading run-scorer in this season’s Sheffield Shield after six games (571 runs with one century and three fifties, average of 63.44) and scored the second most runs in the BBL (592). In the 2017/18 Shield season, Wade plundered 654 runs at an average of 43.6 with three tons — the equal most of any player in the competition.

New coach Justin Langer has demanded hundreds from anyone wanting a spot in his first XI and if the selectors are willing to consider form that stretches beyond just this summer, Wade has them on his resume.

However, he revealed this summer selectors had told him he wouldn’t be considered for an Australian Test gig unless he batted higher up the order for Tasmania, where he’s mostly been coming in at No. 6.

Wade has stated he is happy to play as a specialist batsman because usurping captain Tim Paine with the gloves is hardly a realistic prospect. But Waugh’s claim that Wade shouldn’t be considered for any red ball cricket — because of his age and Test record — should send alarm bells ringing for any ageing domestic cricketers.

That’s not say Waugh is wrong. He could well be on the money by suggesting Wade won’t cut it as an international player. But what his message does is put players around the country on notice if they get one shot in the Aussie team, they better make it count.

Wade averages 28.58 from 22 Tests with two centuries, which Waugh says isn’t up to scratch. And he’s right, those numbers aren’t great — especially in the post-Adam Gilchrist world where glovemen are expected to dominate with the bat too.

But suggesting he should be banished forever when he still has handful of years left in him sets a dangerous precedent that once dropped, a player isn’t allowed to go back to domestic cricket, improve and come back a better player because a line’s already been drawn through their name.

It’s reminiscent of Ed Cowan getting dropped from the Australian side, going back and scoring a truckload of runs for NSW but not being given another chance on the international stage. He was even left out of the Blues side in 2017 despite being named the state’s best performing player the season prior.

Cowan has said previously he believes he was a much better player after he got dropped than when he was first picked for his country. But he never got the chance to prove it at the highest level again.

In the past 20 years alone Australian cricket is littered with stories of players only reaching their full potential after getting dropped. After getting punted, Matthew Hayden re-established himself as a Test stalwart at 28, Justin Langer returned for the final Ashes Test in 2001 as a 30-year-old and Damien Martyn made the most of his second chance during the same series when he was 29.

Hayden finished with a Test average over 50 while the latter two both averaged over 45. The Aussies would kill for numbers like that right now.

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were also dropped before returning to flourish into Australian captains, although they were both younger than Wade when they received their lifelines.

Waugh’s assertion Wade’s age should count against him makes for scary reading among the nation’s 30-year-plus batsmen. Again, Waugh’s no longer a selector (before he quit he had a special focus on T20 cricket) and is paid for his comments as a broadcaster, but it’s not completely unreasonable to expect some players will feel his was the opinion that was shared by others at the selection table when he was in charge of picking the team — and maybe still exists today.

It’s a grim warning for veterans like Callum Ferguson and Alex Doolan, who no doubt still harbour desires of playing for Australia again.

Chris Rogers and Adam Voges both enjoyed fruitful careers after debuting well into their 30s and Wade’s predecessor Brad Haddin earnt his first baggy green as a 30-year-old. The wicketkeeper went on to play 66 Tests and averaged 32.98 — just 4.4 runs more than Wade.

Michael Hussey is the other obvious example of someone who thrived after honing their game on the domestic circuit for years, debuting against the West Indies aged 30.

Before this summer, recent young batsmen (and all-rounders batting at No. 6 — where Wade believes he can fill a hole) had been unable to make their mark in international cricket. Nic Maddinson, Hilton Cartwright and Mitchell Marsh have all crashed and burned while Matthew Renshaw has fallen dramatically out of form and Peter Handscomb out of favour.

It’s an advertisement for experience.

Smith and Warner’s comebacks are just over a month away so the batting crisis that’s engulfed Australia since they were banned may be forgotten if they get back to their best, and Wade’s case will be put on the backburner.

But to completely rule out a 31-year-old in the prime of his career wades into dangerous territory that runs the risk of doing more harm than good.