Australia’s Test vice-captain Brad Haddin will continue to pass on his wicketkeeping wisdom to his Ashes understudy Peter Nevill regardless of whether his younger teammate is targeting his job.
Haddin, who confirmed his retirement from one-day international cricket yesterday, departed this morning for Australia’s two-Test tour of the West Indies and the subsequent five-Test Ashes campaign in the UK without any thought of imminent Test retirement.
But the 37-year-old did concede “it will definitely be my last overseas tour I reckon”, which has heightened debate as to the likely successor for the Test gloveman role that Haddin has filled (with a brief hiatus when Matthew Wade stepped in) since 2008.
Nevill would appear to be front-runner for that vacancy when it arises, having topped New South Wales batting aggregates in last summer’s Bupa Sheffield Shield (764 runs at 76.4) and completed 34 dismissals behind the stumps.
Queensland’s Chris Hartley (41), Western Australia’s Sam Whiteman (38) and Wade (35) effected more dismissals, though none were as productive with the bat.
Haddin, who has worked closely with Nevill in the NSW Blues squad and at their mutual Sydney grade cricket home Eastern Suburbs, said today he was delighted the Victoria-born 29-year-old was chosen for Australia’s dual tours on merit rather than as a ‘project player’ with future potential.
“We’re lucky to have ‘Nev’ (Nevill) on this tour, he’s done a tremendous to to get on an Ashes tour,” Haddin told a pre-departure media conference at Sydney Airport this morning.
“He’s had an outstanding year and he’s got picked the old fashioned way, by catches and runs, which was good as well.
“I’ve worked with him for a number of years at New South Wales and I know he’s excited about the campaign so it will be good to work with him in an Australian set-up.”
Haddin once again brushed aside speculation about the length of his tenure in Test cricket, claiming he was “enjoying” playing the five-day game and that his focus stretched to the upcoming fixtures in the Caribbean and Britain but no further.
However, by the time the brief Test tour of Bangladesh – which follows the team’s UK campaign – is completed and the Australia home summer against New Zealand and the West Indies is due to begin, Haddin will have celebrated his 38th birthday.
Wally Grout (who retired from Test cricket almost 50 years ago) was the previous Australia ‘keeper to play into his 39th year, and only England pair Alec Stewart (40) and Bob Taylor (42) have held the Test position at a greater age since.
Haddin was a batting hero of Australia’s past two Ashes campaigns (in the UK in 2013 and the following summer’s 5-0 whitewash in Australia), but since then he has scored 200 runs at an average of 15.38 in 17 Test innings with a highest score of 55.
Having withdrawn from Australia’s previous tour of the West Indies in 2012 for family reasons and being replaced by Victoria’s Wade for a year, Haddin knows better than to take his selection in the Test XI for granted.
But he and Nevill have been working with former Australia vice-captain Ian Healy at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane prior to the upcoming tours, and Haddin plans to maintain the mentoring work with his teammate over the coming months.
Ian Healy works with Haddin and Nevill at the NCC
“I’ve never been worried about anyone taking my spot or giving the knowledge of the game that I have over to anyone else,” Haddin said today.
“If there’s someone out there better than me to take my job that’s fair enough.
“I’ll help wherever I can with Peter to help him be the best wicketkeeper he can be (but) I’ve never really been worried about someone taking my spot.
“I think that comes a lot from being behind Adam Gilchrist (whose retirement in 2008 at age 36 paved the way for Haddin’s ascension).
“If he didn’t retire, if he had gone on for a couple of more years I may never have got the opportunity to play for Australia so I was never worried about who was in front of me or who was behind me.
“It was always about challenging myself to be the best wicketkeeper I could be and that’s what I would like to help Nev with, and any other keepers who need it along the way.
“If they’re good enough to take my spot, they can take it.”

Haddin also declined to speculate on who he felt was best placed to take over the Test gloves when his tenure comes to an end, observing that Australia was well served with highly-credentialed wicketkeeper-batsmen.
But he also added it was his wish to circumvent that same level of debate over his future in the ODI role – which he crowned with Australia’s ICC World Cup triumph earlier this year – that had helped him reach the decision that he formally announced yesterday.
“I don’t want to come to Test four (of the Ashes) thinking about one-day selection or who they’re going to pick (for the subsequent ODI series in England) or whether I was going to play or not,” Haddin said today.
“So that’s one reason I wanted to make it neat and tidy and now it’s done just go and enjoy the campaign we’re about to get into.”