Selectors want Glenn Maxwell to go from one-day outcast to Twenty20 clutch player in February’s tri-series with England and New Zealand.
Maxwell’s return to Australian colours was confirmed on Monday, just week after he was controversially overlooked for Australia’s 50-over team despite his best summer of domestic cricket.
Aside from the inclusion of stand-in captain David Warner, the squad is a virtually Big Bash all-stars team with the rest of Australia’s Test representatives heading to South Africa to prepare for March’s four-match series.
And given that, chief T20 selector Mark Waugh said a lot of the onus would fall on Maxwell to step up in the big moments as management begin to turn an eye towards the home World T20 in 2020 and lifting the team from a lowly No.7 world ranking.
“He’s been out of the one-day team and Test team but he’s done really well for Victoria. He’s done what has been asked of him in that regard,” Waugh said.
“We know he’s a fantastic T20 player so I would expect him to play a big part in our success.
“We need some players like that to step up and win us some games and win those pressure moments in T20 games because we haven’t had that for quite a while – we’ve been missing that ability with the bat and ball under pressure to win a game.”
Maxwell’s training was put under the spotlight by Steve Smith when he was not selected for the England one-day series, but selectors skirted around questions on the matter on Monday.
Instead, they chose to focus on building an Australian T20 unit that can perform on the big stage.
Hobart excitement machine D’Arcy Short is in line to make his international debut, as is Sydney Sixers’ quick Ben Dwarshuis, while Adelaide wicketkeeper Alex Carey is set to pick up his maiden T20 cap.
“(Short) reminds me of David Warner a bit with his clean ball-striking,” Waugh said of the BBL’s leading run-scorer.
“He has that X-factor, he can bowl as well. He’s got good left-arm wristies as well.
“He’s the sort of player we want to keep coming through. We’ve got to keep regenerating our squad, he’s the type of player who can do that.”
Monday’s announcement marks the second summer in a row Australia’s T20 team has been decimated by Test selections, contributing to the fact they’ve won just one match on home soil since the end of 2014.
“The difficulty is we’ve probably got five or six players who play in all three formats, so there’s always a bit of give and take,” Waugh said.
“Although this team is probably not a full strength I think it’s a great opportunity for some players to show how good they are.
“We’re going to need a squad, a good depth, to be a force in T20 cricket.”
AUSTRALIA’S TWENTY20 TRI-SERIES SQUAD: David Warner (capt), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
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