Matthew Wade wants to be fit and firing for several more years of short-form cricket after deciding to pull-up stumps on his red-ball career following the Sheffield Shield final.
The 36-year-old announced his final first-class outing would be for Tasmania against Western Australia in the title-decider in Perth beginning Thursday.
The former Test wicketkeeper said he made the call to make way for the Tigers' next generation and after back problems kept him sidelined for parts of the summer.
Wade has two years left on his contract with the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League and is likely to be part of Australia's squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in June.
"I want to be at my best for white-ball cricket, especially BBL," he said on Friday.
"I feel like the squad we’ve got with the Hurricanes should be, it is spoken about every year ... pushing for finals if not contending for titles.
"Not playing the longer format of the game will give me an opportunity to get stronger, get in the gym a bit more and have some longevity in that format.
"I’ve got two years (with Hobart) but I’d love to play longer if I could. I feel fresh.
"There certainly isn’t (an element of) 'I’m not playing well enough or I don't feel I can contribute enough'.
"It’s more the younger players have managed to shove me out the door."
Wade, who played 36 Tests for Australia in a career spanning from 2012 to 2021, said his fondest moment was his recall for the 2019 Ashes series in England.
He finished with the third-most runs in the series for Australia, who drew 2-2 and retained the urn.
Hobart-born Wade won four Shield titles with Victoria, including two as skipper, after making his first-class debut in 2007.
"Red-ball cricket has always been my number one and favourite format," Wade, who has 9183 runs at an average of 40.81 and 463 dismissals from 165 first-class games, said.
"What I'm going to miss is sitting down after four days of really grinding it out in a first-class game and having a beer with your teammates.
"I’ve played franchise leagues around the world and you don’t get that feeling."
Wade, who overcame testicular cancer as a teenager, thanked his wife Julia, family and junior club at Clarence for their support.
He said the Tigers, without a Shield title since 2012/13, would relish the underdog tag against WA.
"The last Shield I managed to win was the first time an away team had won in a long time so hopefully I can wind back the clock and get it done again," he said.
