Events have conspired against Queensland wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe many times over the course of the last decade. But, with his addition to Australia's Test and One-Day International squads to tour England, today has become his long overdue day.

Seccombe, 29, has a glittering record at interstate level behind him but felt that his hopes of representing Australia had been extinguished after New South Wales gloveman Brad Haddin was twice chosen ahead of him to deputise for Adam Gilchrist in recent months.

"This selection is more a surprise than anything. I'm extremely excited about what lies ahead but, at the moment, I'm just totally overwhelmed with the selection and obviously very proud and very honoured," he said.

"There's always media speculation and a lot of things out of one's control so I never worry too much (about conjecture over selection decisions). It was an absolute surprise."

In naming their squads early last month, the four-man Australian selection panel had originally elected to leave the onus of wicketkeeping on the three-month tour of England purely to Gilchrist. But this meant that their vice-captain was potentially confronted with the prospect of appearing in at least twenty matches. It also ensured that the Australians were set to defy a longstanding convention of taking at least two recognised wicketkeepers with them on an Ashes visit.

According to the panel's chairman, Trevor Hohns, the reasoning behind that strategy was always likely to come under review and today's announcement is the result.

An outstanding technician behind the stumps and a useful lower order batsman, Seccombe has been an integral member of Queensland teams over recent seasons. His average of close to five dismissals a match (his current tally stands at 339 dismissals from 69 first-class appearances) is easily the most productive of any wicketkeeper in Queensland's first-class history and he jointly holds the record for the most number of dismissals effected by a wicketkeeper in a single Australian domestic summer. He has also amassed more than 2,000 runs with the bat.

But, until the retirement of the former custodian, he was forced to live largely in the shadow of Queensland and Australian icon, Ian Healy. It was not until the 1999-2000 season that he inherited a full-time role at first-class level for the first time and even that elevation did not arrive without the trauma of a broken wrist and a broken collarbone along the way. More recently, even his excellent run of success in domestic cricket did not yield anything beyond two Australia 'A' caps by way of higher honours.

"The last season or two, I probably thought that was the case," he said of the assessment that an international call-up might have been set to permanently elude him.

But Seccombe has always remained a driven cricketer, nonetheless.

"It hasn't been hard to remain motivated. Obviously, the wicketkeeper's role is pivotal in a game of cricket but I've thoroughly enjoyed all the successes Queensland has achieved and that's been the driving force behind things: because I've been a part of such a successful team."

Haddin, a more aggressive batsman and six years Seccombe's junior, was preferred for a one-day contest against Zimbabwe in January and then covered briefly for an ailing Gilchrist on the national team's recent visit to India. Seccombe was also narrowly pipped for a similar role to the one for which he has now been chosen when Victoria's Darren Berry was brought in ahead of him as a late replacement on the 1997 Ashes tour.

Like Berry, Seccombe was playing League cricket in England at the time and remains keenly aware of the potentially heavy workload of an Ashes trip.

"All the hard yards that I've put in and the constant work has paid off to a big degree today. But a lot of hard work is ahead of me from now on. This is definitely not a time to sit back and relax at all; it's probably a time to go even harder with everything."

"Should any sort of opportunity arise (in England), I've now got to be ready to take it."

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd