Entering the summer as a Test incumbent rather than a chasing spot, the Tasmanian captain on Monday confirmed his place in the Tigers' Sheffield Shield team was likely to remain as a batsman only, unless there was a need for him to go behind the stumps for team balance reasons.

"My keeping days in red ball cricket are probably gone unless the team is looking to play another batsman,'' Wade said in the lead-up to Tasmania's Sheffield Shield opener against Western Australia.

"In terms of what is going at the next level for me playing as a batter, I'll be concentrating on that and leave the gloves behind."

But he did say he would still be behind the stumps for the "majority" of white ball fixtures for the Tigers, despite not taking the gloves in his recent one-day outings.

After two centuries in the Ashes and just 23 runs in two one-day innings, Wade said he was looking forward to returning to long-form cricket.

"I am just keen to get out there and play some red ball cricket, as I felt a little bit off in white ball as I hadn't hit a white ball in a long time,'' he said.

"I know there's a lot of media speculation about who gets picked in the first Test and guys start to focus a bit more to get picked in that, and I am in that boat as well, but for me it is just slotting back in and playing good cricket, captaining well and trying to win games for Tassie.

"If I get a big score that is great, but if I don't, I am confident in my game that I will get one eventually.

"Playing the whole series in England at stages I felt like I was holding on pretty tight, but once I got to end I felt like I had got into that zone of playing free cricket without trying to hold on too tight to Australian selection. As long as I can do that I am sure it will come naturally for me, but there's always pressure no matter what level you play."

The clash with Western Australia, which starts on Thursday, will be the first with Jeff Vaughan as head coach with Adam Griffith taking a step back in Shield cricket, with Wade saying the transition had been "smooth".

Vaughan believed the one-day cup, despite a lack of positive results, had shown the Tigers were playing some good cricket, but acknowledged the WACA did present a challenge.

"It's a tough place to play,'' he said.

"Everyone I think finds it difficult to play over there, but having said that it is a really enjoyable place to play as a batsman. If you can get in you can get a lot of reward for run-making and as a bowler if you bowl in the right areas you'll get reward as well as the nicks will carry. It is a place where a lot is in your favour to play good cricket."