Wade picked 'because Paul Gallen wasn't available'

Former Aussie Test cricketer Kerry O'Keeffe has taken a cheeky dig at Matthew Wade after his controversial selection in the national side.

In a new YouTube series called 'The Kerry O'Keeffe show', the retired leg-spinner took issue with the idea of picking Wade to add more grunt and mongrel to the Test team.

"The selectors said, 'we want to bring in a bit of mongrel'," O'Keeffe said.

"So they brought in Matthew Wade, basically because Paul Gallen was unavailable. Same sort of keeping skills...no that's unkind."

Cue iconic Kerry O'Keeffe laugh!

In the hilarious segment, O'Keeffe also criticised Wade's constant chirping from behind the stumps.

Wade's cries of "Bowling Gazza" while Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is bowling have almost become the soundtrack of the summer.

"It's wearing thin in the loungerooms around Australia," he said. "If Gaz (Lyon) bowls a half volley outside off stump which is stroked quietly to cover for no run, he doesn't deserve a 'Bowling Gazza'. It's a false dawn, because it's not great bowling.

"Rod Marsh was my wicketkeeper throughout my career. Twenty-four Tests behind the stumps, he never described any of my deliveries back to me 'great bowling'.

"Over after over I was ripping leg spinners, wrong-uns, flippers — without a word coming from behind the stumps. Occasionally he would walk past me at the end of an over and say, 'can you give me something to do'."