Victoria skipper Matthew Wade set to return to Tasmania

Victoria skipper Matthew Wade set to return to Tasmania

Matthew Wade, Victoria's incumbent captain, is all set to switch sides and move back to his native state of Tasmania at the conclusion of the Australian summer. The 29-year-old, on Tuesday (January 24), stated that he would return to Tasmania for "personal and family reasons".

"I am currently in discussions with Cricket Australia, Cricket Victoria and Cricket Tasmania about a possible move back to Tasmania next season for personal and family reasons," Wade said. "My wife Julia and I now have a young daughter and both of our families are based in Tasmania so we would like to be closer to them. I'm extremely grateful to Cricket Victoria for the opportunities they have given me and also for supporting me in exploring this option." he added.

Under Wade's able leadership, Victoria won the Sheffield Shield in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively. Wade led from the front, especially during the 2014-15 season by notching up 572 runs at an average of 57.2.

Tony Dodemaide, Cricket Victoria's chief executive, expressed disappointment at the prospect of losing their long-serving captain. "We can confirm we are in early discussions in regards to Matthew's wish to move closer to his family and respect this," Dodemaide said. "We're naturally disappointed at the prospect of losing our Victorian Bushrangers captain after back to back Shield victories. We will work closely with Cricket Australia and Cricket Tasmania to achieve an appropriate outcome for all parties."

With Australian Cricketers' Association and Cricket Australia still at odds over negotiations related to Memorandum of Understanding, future contracts and other financial matters haven't yet been resolved. However, Andrew Dykes, Tasmania's cricket general manager, sounded confident that Wade would be able to switch sides.

"Due to the ongoing ACA and CA memorandum of understanding negotiations, we are unable to progress any further with state contract negotiations," Dykes told The Mercury. "Matt is very keen to relocate back to Tasmania for family reasons, so we will continue ongoing discussions with him in the coming months. Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia are aware of the discussions."

Wade was born in Tasmania, but signed a contract with the Victorian state side at the age of 19. He was appointed as the captain of the Victorian set-up in 2013-14. Wade made his Test debut against West Indies in 2012, but was dropped next year with Brad Haddin taking his place. The 29-year-old, however, returned to the Test side this Australian summer in place of Peter Nevill. He is also Australia's regular wicketkeeper in the shorter formats of the game.