Recalled Wade tempers his rage

Words commonly used to describe Matthew Wade: feisty, angry, aggressive.

Words not so commonly used to describe Matthew Wade: cool, calm, collected.

When Wade glanced James Hopes into the hands of a neatly placed leg slip during the domestic limited overs tournament, he marched off North Sydney Oval with a face like thunder, repeatedly shaking his head. It was no great surprise to hear later that he had vented his anger by hurling a water bottle across the dressing room with enough force to inadvertently break a window.

The episode played out with a Code of Behaviour charge, a hearing, and a one-match suspension. It was the second time in as many seasons Wade had forfeited his place for disciplinary reasons. Though last summer's charge of pitch tampering at the Bellerive Oval was hotly debated, the two incidents were not those redolent of a leader. Wade admits he needs to temper his rage.

"I was disappointed with how it all went down but I understand that you can't do that," Wade said of his North Sydney transgression. "I'm captain of Victoria now and everyone 's watching so I've got to be better at that kind of stuff and calm down a little bit maybe. You just want to get it out of the way and move on to the next game. I know it's not good enough and I know I won't do it again.

"On the ground comes really naturally to me and I have got a personality to play pretty hard on the ground, but I've had to mould that a little bit off the field. With what happened last week, I've had to work on that kind of stuff. I think that has been the biggest difference with the captaincy, you're under the microscope the whole time whether you're on or off the field compared to just being a player where you sneak under the radar a little bit."

Now Wade is beginning his second summer as captain of Victoria, and sounds wiser for his first. The Bushrangers endured an awful 2013-14, out of step with a summer of Ashes success. After taking part in the disastrous 2013 Test tour of India and also the dysfunctional subsequent Champions Trophy campaign, Wade has a few examples of how not to perform well. He has taken on their lessons.

Many of these relate to the running of a team. Where once Wade would have spoken earnestly of maintaining high performance and being accountable, now he is more conversant of ensuring that the Bushrangers play for each other this season rather than scrambling all over one another in the race to return to national duty and/or a Cricket Australia contract.

"That's been a good thing to be honest when I came out of the Australian team to really focus on a team rather than just focusing on playing for Australia," Wade said. "I've found over my time there's players who focus too hard on getting back to the next level and forget what it is that the game is all about, and that's playing cricket with your mates and winning as a team."

A key counsellor to Wade in this respect is Victoria's worldly coach Greg Shipperd. His changed job charter - from winning domestic trophies to preparing potential Australian players - has seen Victoria's results trail off from past success, and also seen the need to work alongside players dealing with the emotional and mental hurdles not only of playing at the top level but also being cast back down into first-class ranks.

Wade, Cameron White, Rob Quiney, John Hastings, David Hussey, Fawad Ahmed, James Muirhead and Clint McKay have all dealt with that sinking sensation in recent summers. "That happens for every player who goes to play for Australia, the level of expectation externally and internally lifts dramatically and it depends then on the amount of opportunity you get to work that balance out," Shipperd said. "Some people who are removed from that opportunity take some time to recover. It's about being patient, and about encouraging them to know those skills haven't disappeared."

Paradoxically, Wade now finds himself back in Australia's ODI team to face South Africa for two matches in Perth. This is partly because Brad Haddin is being rested, but may also have something to do with the fact that the WACA Ground will feature plenty of pace and very little spin - keeping up to the stumps having been Wade's major blind spot in past Australian appearances.

His glove work appeared to have improved somewhat during the Matador Cup, and then there was one freakish run-out having run and dived to collect a ball and then thrown the stumps down from the prone position. "I had a few technical issues with my keeping I had to iron out," Wade said, "And I thought I did that over the summer we just had." Whether the recall for the South Africa matches is merely a short-term commission or the start of another chance may depend on how well Wade can keep (his cool).