He is not anywhere near as bad as Haddin, ignorant people who have very little idea are still judging him on the Shield final when he was 21.
Strangely enough he has improved a lot since then, who would have thought that a young keeper would improve
Of course he has improved, there was only one way to go for him after that performance.
Arthur also believes Haddin is a test standard keeper, so not really sure what your point is here?
I've been watching Wade keep since he was about 17, he has improved immensely. But he is still not at an acceptable level, just as Haddin is not.
The obvious replacement for Haddin is Paine, and unfortunately he is injured and no doubt the selectors are awaiting the next medical reports before putting Plan B into action for succession planning.
I have nothing against Matthew Wade, my point is merely that if you are dropping Haddin due to his keeping, you don't pick another player with questionable keeping. If you decide Haddin isn't doing enough with the bat, and you want someone to replace him as your #7, but get no improvement in the keeping department, then Wade is your man. However, I remain unconvinced that Wade would be any better with the bat, he certainly would not improve on his keeping.
Even watching the 20-20 game only a few weeks ago Wade was battling, he hurt his finger because he couldn't even glove a simple return at one point. He is not the polished product that a Paine or a Hartley are with the gloves.
Hartley is a better batsman than his number suggest, but he is most certainly not as good as Wade, Haddin or Paine. He is not a dasher like Wade/Haddin and doesn't have the top order technique of Paine, but he is a good fighter and can really dig in when it counts. He was sheffield shield player of the year 18 months ago, purely on his batting exploits after repeatedly digging QLD out of the shit. Thats the part people would like most about him, he is a fighter and can dig in when it counts.
Healy was a terrible keeper when first selected. He basically learnt on the job and worked harder on his game than anyone to become the great keeper he was. Have a look at his efforts early in his career, very average.
I'm not arguing for Hartley, I'm just not sure what people are looking for.
If they want the best keeper, Hartley is it. If they want the best batsman, Haddin is probably it. If they want the best combination of the 2, Paine is it. Wade would not provide us an undeniable upgrade on Haddin in any of the skills, which is the only reason I wouldn't push for his selection.
He averages 35 with 3 test centuries (2 in Ashes tests) and 10 test 50's. His batting is totally acceptable for a test keeper, generally exceeding that of most keepers in the history of the game. His keeping is substandard, but obviously the selectors feel they will take the good with the bad until a better 'package' is available.
With Paine unavailable, I lean towards Hartley, as he is clearly the best keeper and he is one of those guys that I feel would improve his batting at the next level. I haven't seen enough of Nevill's keeping to comment, but his batting numbers are very good. He didn't make the Aus 19's side, so I never saw him, have more to do with 19's than 17's.
