{"id":613535,"date":"2026-04-17T19:25:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613535\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T19:25:21","slug":"former-test-cricketer-matthew-wade-earns-senior-footy-selection-at-lauderdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613535\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Test cricketer Matthew Wade earns senior footy selection at Lauderdale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Australian Test cricketer Matthew Wade is set to lace up the boots for Lauderdale\u2019s senior football side this weekend, capping a remarkable return to the local game in Tasmania.<\/p>\n

Wade, who represented Australia more than 200 times across all formats of cricket, will line up for the Bombers against Glenorchy on Saturday.<\/p>\n

What began as a way of keeping fit has quickly turned into something more serious.<\/p>\n

Wade joined Lauderdale for training a couple of months ago and played two reserves games, where he was the best player on the ground both times.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lauderdale coach Brent Dolliver said Wade had earned his spot in the senior team<\/p>\n

Lauderdale coach Brent Dolliver said Wade had simply earned his spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done the work, certainly got himself fit enough and his games over the last two weeks \u2026 he\u2019s been our best player in the last two games, so that certainly warrants senior selection,\u201d he told Pulse.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Bombers will host Glenorchy this Saturday with Wade in the senior lineup<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just because it\u2019s Matthew Wade, he certainly warrants his spot on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolliver said Wade\u2019s skill level after 19 years away from football caught everyone off guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe honestly is one of the better kicks I\u2019ve seen in a long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said Wade\u2019s presence had lifted the entire group, particularly the younger players.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Lauderdale Football Club described Wade as a born and bred Tip Rat<\/p>\n

\u201cHis leadership\u2019s really good, he\u2019s only been there for a couple of months, but he\u2019s teaching the younger guys things which is really good for the group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite the hype, Dolliver said he just wants Wade to enjoy himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want him to have some fun, he\u2019s been a long time away from the game and it\u2019s something that he\u2019s wanted to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Bombers will also welcome back VFL players Robbie Fox, Caleb Mitchell and Sam Siggins from the Tasmania Devils this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"Matthew Wade will line up for Lauderdale\u2019s senior side against Glenorchy on Saturday<\/p>\n

The Lauderdale Football Club announced Wade\u2019s return on social media, describing him as \u201ca born and bred Tip Rat\u201d whose football journey started at the club.<\/p>\n

Before dedicating himself to cricket, Wade played 35 senior games for Lauderdale and 12 VFL games for the Devils.<\/p>\n

Wade\u2019s international cricket career included 36 Tests, 97 ODIs and 92 T20Is, including winning the 2021 World Cup. <\/p>\n

Wade still plays domestically for the Hobart Hurricanes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Wade had been away from football for 19 years before returning to Lauderdale<\/p>\n

The senior\u2019s match is on at 2pm on Saturday at Lauderdale Oval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Australian Test cricketer Matthew Wade is set to lace up the boots for Lauderdale\u2019s senior football side…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-613535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}