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His decision to retire closes the curtain on a 119-game BBL career that began with the Melbourne Stars before moving to cross-town rivals the Renegades and then spending nine seasons in his home state with the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n
Wade, who predominantly took the gloves in Australian colours but enjoyed a second coming in Test cricket as a specialist batter, also played 225 times for Australia across all three formats, including 36 Tests.<\/p>\n
Last summer he also juggled his playing commitments with being a wicketkeeping and fielding coach for the national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew has been an incredibly important figure for the Hurricanes and Tasmanian cricket over a long period of time,\u201d Cricket Tasmania general manager Salliann Beams said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis record speaks for itself, but what doesn\u2019t always show up in the numbers is the influence he has had on the players and people around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been a fierce competitor, a leader and someone who has always demanded high standards, while his experience at the highest level of the game has been invaluable to our playing group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew Wade of the Hurricanes reacts as he leaves the field after being dismissed during the BBL match between Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder at Ninja Stadium, on December 16, 2025, in Hobart, Australia (Photo by Steve Bell\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
As he did for Australia, Wade played various roles with the bat from opener to finisher – which he did so famously with his 17-ball 41 to get Australia over the line against Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final – during his BBL career.<\/p>\n
He retires sitting in ninth place on the competition\u2019s all-time leading run scorers charts with a tally of 2,978 runs.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of those came for the Hurricanes with his 2,446 runs in purple placing him third behind Ben McDermott (3,184) and D\u2019Arcy Short (2,706) in the club\u2019s all-time leading run scorers list.<\/p>\n
Wade does boast the highest ever score by a Hurricane, however, having smashed 130 not out against the Adelaide Strikers in BBL|09.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Wadey\u2019 is one of those cricketers you always wanted on your side,\u201d Hurricanes\u2019 men\u2019s head coach Jeff Vaughan said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe competed incredibly hard every time he walked onto the field and had the ability to change a game very quickly, but equally important has been what he has passed on to the players around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a fantastic cricket brain and has always been willing to share his knowledge and challenge those around him to get better.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of players within our system who have benefited from playing alongside Matt and I think that will be a significant part of his legacy here.\u201d<\/p>\n
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