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Watching the opening instalment of the Australian international season last week – the Twenty20 against South Africa – a couple of things caught my eye.
One was the abomination that is now the Adelaide Oval, an iconic cricket ground now a nondescript multi-purpose bowl. Progress is one thing; crapping all over history is something else entirely.
But that’s by the by, so on to the second – the absence of Glenn Maxwell.
One of the better short-form players around, a man with bags of experience and a strike rate to pay good money for, as many have, yet not required by his national team.
For a few seconds I’ll admit to confusion but only then did it come back to my attention that Maxwell was playing Test cricket in the UAE.
This is not to condemn the schedule, as unsubtly greedy and short-sighted as it is, but offer amazement at the Victorian’s appearance at first drop in Michael Clarke’s XI.
Is Australian state cricket in such a poor condition that this is the best it can do? George Bailey wasn’t the greatest selection in history but he’s like David Boon compared to Maxwell.
Alex Doolan, admittedly, struggled in the first Test against Pakistan but his demotion in favour of a lower-order hacker must have come as a real slap in the face.
The justification for Maxwell’s promotion, that of an indescribable ‘x-factor’ trumping a certain scoring inertia, made little sense on paper and even less in practicality.
In a team that desperately needed to bat for a long time, a flimsy, fly-by-night number three couldn’t have been less suitable and his two frenetic innings showed up the selection as the folly it was.
No nous, no technique, no thought, no plan and, ultimately, no chance.
The Pakistani spinners, as inexperienced as they were, must have been licking their lips once Maxwell’s modus operandi became evident. A couple of lusty blows and, er, that’s it.
Walking wicket may be a touch harsh but if you don’t even attempt to give yourself a chance then you’re in real trouble.
The hyperactive manner of Maxwell’s efforts were either those of a man exceptionally confident in his own ability or with no confidence at all. No doubt the ‘it’s the way he plays’ has been put forward somewhere down the line but pay that no attention.
There is a time and a place to pull the showboating tricks out of the bag and it’s when you’ve got the opposition on their knees not when you have a rather steep hill in front of you.
Batting in Test cricket, as those who do it well will tell you, is about playing the percentages and doing it for all, or a good deal, of the time. Pre-meditation, a big element of Maxwell’s game as it has to be, does not encourage consistent success and it never will.
He is of the modern-day game and that is no crime whatsoever. There are millions of dollars out there to be earned and plenty of scope for such talent to prosper but the five-day game simply isn’t the appropriate theatre.
The x-factor alluded to earlier is often a meaningless sound-bite that can be translated as ‘we can’t really explain the selection’ and this particular episode should be right at the top of the pile.
Shane Warne, if we have to use such criteria, seemingly possessed it but he had the ability to back it up. The same could be said of the likes of Brian Lara and Kevin Pietersen who could dictate terms because their talent was a foundation that could be leant on
Maxwell, in relative terms, is a very good cricketer but Test matches?
Come the upcoming opening skirmish against India at the Gabba he should be nowhere to be seen. It was an experiment that should never again see the light of day.