Matthew Wade played T20 World Cup final with a torn side

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has revealed he played the T20 World Cup final with a grade two tear in his side after suffering the injury at training the day before the game.

Wade was the hero of Australia's semi-final win over Pakistan but entered the final against New Zealand in serious doubt after damaging his side in his final net session.

He was sent for a scan and although the team doctor and physiotherapist, as well as captain Aaron Finch knew the result of the scan and the severity of the injury, but Wade did not want to know.

"Day before the game, second last ball before the end of the session I did my side," Wade said on Thursday.

"I didn't really want to go for a scan. But they sent me and then to the physio and the doctor's credit they kind of hid the information from me and just said let's see you pull up tomorrow and we'll go from there.

"It pulled up about the same as what it felt the night before, so I went and hit some balls before the game and I tried to bluff my way through that, then they made me hit a few more so I got through it and felt pretty fine."

Finch said that while there were some fears over Wade's fitness he was not surprised he got through.

"There was always a little bit of a fear," Finch said. "I knew the result being a grade two, I thought that a grade two tear in his side was going to be tough. But if anyone's going to play it would have been him. You would have had to cut his leg off for him not to be out there.

"I thought he kept brilliantly. Towards the back end I saw him in a bit of pain with a couple of dives and throws so yeah, he was never missing that though."

No one else in the team was aware until Glenn Maxwell watched Wade hit balls during the warm-up.

"The way he was gingerly hitting the underarms at the start might have given you a feel," Maxwell said. "I thought, 'what is going on here hit the ball harder!' He said, 'I've got a side strain.' I didn't even know."

Wade, who turns 34 in December, said after his semi-final heroics that he thought he might be playing his last international match for Australia. But he confirmed on Thursday that he would love to play in Australia's title defence at home next year to finish off his international career.

"Hopefully I get a few more games now," Wade said. "I suppose that's been the way I've been looking at it for the last couple of years anyway, to be honest. I never thought I'd get an opportunity to play again.

"Probably internationally I think, you know, this will be the last run at it. I'm contracted for Hobart Hurricanes and for Tassie [Tasmania] for a period of time and I still love playing Shield cricket, I still love playing for Tassie.

"You get to the age where you know it's a natural progression. We've got so many good young keepers coming up. Philippe and Inglis, and Carey is still around so you know those guys are pushing for spots and thankfully I could do what I did last World Cup and hopefully that gives me enough credit to get another crack at it next time.

"But just the progression. Those guys are good players. They're going to be good players for a long period of time and they are going to need some exposure at international level at some stage."