Matthew Wade: Worcestershire sign Australia international as batter for 2022
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Matthew Wade has scored more than 4,000 runs for Australia in all formats, including five centuries
Worcestershire have signed Australia international Matthew Wade for 2022.
The 33-year-old batsman/wicketkeeper, previously with Birmingham Bears, is currently in the Caribbean playing for Australia against West Indies.
He has been picked as a keeper for the T20s but only batted in the one-day internationals - and the most recent of his 36 Test appearances, against India in January, was also as a batsman only.
Worcestershire's first-choice keeper for the last decade has been Ben Cox.
And cricket steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon confirmed Wade will play for Worcestershire as a batsman.
The former Pears paceman said: "We have signed him as a batter. He is a real hard-nosed batter in red-ball cricket and a dangerous striker in white-ball cricket."
The club believe signing Wade, who has played in 36 Tests, 97 ODIs and 43 T20s for his country, is "a signal of intent."
He said: "I have always wanted to experience the challenge of a full season of county cricket, and I jumped at the opportunity to join Worcestershire as soon as it came about.
"New Road is one of the world's most recognisable cricket grounds, and I loved playing there as part of the Ashes tour in 2019."