He’s the king of Australia’s current World Cup batting campaign but Glenn Maxwell reckons he has more to prove to earn a Test cap.
Never a certainty to make Australia’s tournament squad of 15, the Victorian all-rounder’s form has taken off, peaking on Sunday when he blasted 102 from 53 during Australia’s 64-run win against Sri Lanka at the SCG.
But the 26-year old isn’t getting carried away.
“It’s nice that I can ride the wave at the moment, but I know how quickly it can turn around to wondering where my next runs are going to be, so it’s about trying to keep that going as much as I can,” Maxwell said on Wednesday.
Due to rejoin his Indian Premier League team, Kings XI Punjab, for the start of competition in April, Maxwell hinted he would like to be spending more time abroad during 2015.
“I’d love to be touring the Windies and I’d love to be touring England for The Ashes but it just comes down to how well I’m performing and hopefully making runs for the rest of the World Cup,” he said.
His trip to the UAE for Australia in 2014 did not net the results he was after and he thought the World Cup would be a good way to reignite his Test career.
“The way I thought I was going to have to get back into the Test team was by playing really well during this World Cup.
“Obviously putting scores on the board but bowling a lot of overs and taking wickets as well.
“I still think I’ve got a fair bit of work to do to prove I’m ready to have another crack at Test cricket.”
Maxwell credits a bit of good luck for his upturn in form, admitting he hasn’t made any technical changes to his game.
But he also named fellow Australian Steve Smith as his role model, for having remodelled his game from that as a leg spinner to become one of the nation’s best batsmen.
“He’s probably someone I’ve watched over the last 12 months and how he’s turned it around and hopefully I can do something similar.”
Maxwell championed the value of Twenty20 experience going into the World Cup tournament.
“That last 10, 15 overs is now the most important part of the whole game,” he said of the prestigious international tournament.
“You can do whatever you like in the first 30 to 35 (overs) but if you’ve got wickets on hand for the last 10, 15 you can score well over 12 an over and really set your game up.
“It seems that 2-150 or 3-150 off 30 overs is just a really generic score and depending on how good your middle order is, it depends if you get 350 or 260.”
The Australian side landed in Hobart on Wednesday ahead of their last pool match against Scotland on Saturday.
Training will resume on Thursday after the squad was given a few days rest.
Despite the result at Bellerive Oval, Australia is guaranteed a quarter-final berth, and will face their first knockout match at Adelaide Oval on March 20, with their opponent yet to be decided.
Bearfax
Guest
Actually Ducko, Maddinson is having a good Shield season so far and is averaging 53.67 for the season. His overall average is now over 38
Ducko
Guest
I agree. That's my point as well. Maxwell is not getting the opportunity to push his case for a test spot due to World Cup commitments. Same for Faulkner & Finch. To your list of rising players, I'd add Hanscombe & Maddinson, although the latter has been patchy of late.
Bearfax
Guest
Trouble for Maxwell is that he is not getting to play much first class cricket. One match this season for one innings. His average has been rising in recent years and is now over 40 which is about on par for a future test player. Burns is only slightly younger with a first class average only one run higher and he doesnt even bowl. Maxwell, Burns and Lynn are presently the three young batsmen I would have at the top of my list for long term test positions. Others are rising but these three have the stats and the age at this stage.
Ducko
Guest
Saying that Maxwell should be picked for test cricket based on ODI form is futile. It would be like saying that Starc should be a permanent test player based upon his ODI form. What both players need to do is to improve their first class stats, which are quite good at the moment but need to be more consistent. What we can say, IMO, is that based on their ODI form, that there is a good chance that both players could make the grade as test cricketers. Starc is likely to tour the Windies & England this year. I think Maxwell's unlikely to be part of these tours, but could get his chance in the next season or two.
Vish
Guest
Smith has tightened his game a lot. His discretion of leaving balls has made him the player he is now. Maxie needs innovation and clear hitting more suited to the shorter formats. I wouldnt mind Maxie not playing a single test but lifting three WC trophies for Australia
QuitWhinging
Guest
Hmmm, I wasn't aware 38 is a bigger number than 40. I learn new things ever day...
Bearfax
Guest
They said the same about Warner. They said the same about Smith. Maxwell has the talent to be a fine test player. Has good first class average, though not great yet. Just needs the chance to prove himself.
Vish
Guest
Maxie has come real good but he needs to concentrate only on limited overs cricket. Tat z his forte. Test cricket is a different ball game and Maxi can contest for the number 6 spot wid Mitch Marsh only in the subcontinent. He better focus his attention to three more matches and try to score the maximum runs. Tat ll jus give Australia the WC if he clicks in atleast 2 of the 3.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
They'll pick him and bat him no 6, Symo style. He might be a tad suspect to extreme pace ( who isn't ) but he's not going to encounter that to often and short bowling is severely restricted in this age.
Bearfax
Guest
The problem for Maxwell is that he is so successful as an ODI player, that he is not getting enough first class cricket to hone his longer form skills. He's played one Shield game this season for one innings of 24. In a way this is shades of Bevan another one day great, who became pigeon holed, because at age 26 he was found with perceived deficiencies that he was judged on for the rest of his career. Despite this he averaged an extraordinary 57.3 in first class cricket at the end of his career better than any modern day batsman in Australia for over 50 years. Maxwell has a first class average just over 40 but I suspect he's a far better batsman than that and just needs the practice and recognition. I'm hoping that a travesty of selection bungling does not also hamper Maxwell's chances of test cricket. He's had a paltry three tests, one 18 months following the first two and in tests in which Australian batsmen almost all failed. Is he to be scapegoated? Maxwell needs first class play and he should be at the forefront of test selection along with Lynn from Queensland. These two guys are outstanding young batsmen who just need to be given proper chances to show they have the stuff. Or is this to be another Hughes/Khawaja debacle. Lynn should be next cab off the rank in place of Watson. Maxwell should be there for Clarke's place if the latter's health ends his career. And young Mitch Marsh needs to produce the goods to justify his early selection or I would have Maxwell as my all rounder.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
It's good to here statements like this from Maxwell himself. Identifying short comings is the 1st step. Again the key will be consistency and whether he can sustain that consistency. But he's certainly going about it the right way. I think he's making a real fist of improving his public image and persona and you have to give him credit for that.
dan ced
Guest
Yeah :( Poor Klinger. If only the selectors followed the form. I do like Maxwell though, I have a soft spot for his off spin.
Rising Power
Guest
We all know Klinger will probably never play for Australia, his boat has just about sailed (if he's not in the next Ashes tour then goodnight Irene). Maxwell is starting to come good form-wise, but I hope he's not going to be our next Shane Watson by being constantly selected on potential and "we know what he can do when he's on song" when/if he consistently fails to make runs, while guys like Klinger continue to plunder runs in all formats for season after season.
dan ced
Guest
Klinger has a higher domestic first class, list a AND T20 average than Maxwell. Klinger should be in at least 2 of those formats at a national level. Klinger is the real Maxi :D
deccas
Guest
Maxwells fielding is a convincing factor as well. If Silk ends up coming good (he will) we could have one of the best fielding teams going around with Silk Warner Lynn Smith and Maxwell
deccas
Guest
his first class record is actually pretty good. Very comparable to burns and Lynn's actually.
deccas
Guest
Fast bowling is what I meant there.
deccas
Guest
number 2 is a good possibility if the gast bowling stocks are all healthy. I can see our best team being Starc Pattinson Cummins Hazlewood with a spin bowling allrounder in the top 6.
Nudge
Guest
Their are 2 reasons I think Maxwell can become a brilliant test player. 1- he has an excellent technique. Have a good look next time he bats. He actually looks reasonably similar to Ponting, and I'm not for one second saying he will be as good as Ponting. 2- he has an eye like a dead fish. To play some of the shots he plays, they can only be played by someone with a brilliant eye. His weakness at this stage is obviously temperament. Warner had the same problem early in his career. The trick for Maxwell is how badly does he won't to play test cricket? All good to say how desperate he is but he has to put his money where his mouth is. With Australia's jam packed summer schedule he hardly plays any shield cricket because of 20/20 and one day stuff for Australia. Plus the club 20/20 stuff which is held in India around October. What he has to do is have a year or two off the IPL in India around April and go and play in first class county cricket in England for 15 matches. That would make a huge difference to his red ball game, and could well be the path to having a 10 year test match career for Australia, and that's where you will get the respect every cricketer craves for in Australia
Vas Venkatramani
Roar Guru
I would hope that the selectors would ask Maxwell to score first class runs before they thought of putting him back in the Test side. As the Andrew Symonds experiment in 2004 showed, don't rely on one-day form to pick a Test side. I would especially hope that if it came to choosing a Test team, the FC form of Burns and Lynn would be considered stronger than the one-day form of Maxwell.