Australia’s long-delayed regeneration will now be enforced, and an arduous road lies ahead to craft a champion new team. Glenn Maxwell can be the first step.
Australia are on the brink. The Ashes are long gone. For all intents and purposes, they were surrendered during the first session of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.
A batting line-up widely expected to dominate lies in ruins, with the glittering career of Michael Clarke the latest casualty. The regeneration of the team, perhaps long overdue, will now be enforced, with significant changes looming for Australia’s next assignment against Bangladesh.
However there is one Test remaining in the current Ashes series, and with it the comes an opportunity to begin the process of change with a certain highly-talented batting allrounder. This allrounder is, rather conveniently, already in England with Yorkshire, and who has just scored a brilliant 140 following a top-order collapse.
That man is Glenn Maxwell.
No doubt some will laugh at this proposal, remembering his ill-conceived stint as Australia’s No. 3 in the second Test against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi. Yet even in that calamitous match, he showed glimpses of class, if not temperament, in his second-innings 37 from 28.
A batsman of almost limitless potential, his first-class average, even hampered by a dearth of red-ball opportunities in recent times, is at 38.5 roughly comparable with most of the other contenders for Test call-ups.
Unlike his competitors, however, Maxwell is an established international player with 49 ODI caps and has played a number of brilliant innings of contrasting styles in a variety of conditions and high-class bowling attacks.
His brutal 102 from 51 balls against Sri Lanka in the recent World Cup was phenomenal, but a less-remembered innings in the Tri-Series final against England showcased his versatility.
With Australia’s total a precarious 4/60, Maxwell – having spent 16 balls making his way to 3 – began a mature, gritty salvage effort with Mitchell Marsh. A difficult WACA surface and a probing English attack spearheaded by Steven Finn, James Anderson and Stuart Broad forced Maxwell to check his aggression somewhat and apply himself to the task of playing a substantial knock.
After cautiously reaching 56 from 76 balls in the 33rd over, he began to play his shots and, in partnership with Marsh, set the stage for a whirlwind 50 from James Faulkner. Though he ultimately fell to an awful shot for 95 from 98, he had dragged Australia to a winning total and later went on to polish off a man-of-the-match performance with the ball.
Rightly, no amount of one-day brilliance will entirely convince good judges of a player’s suitability for the unmatched trials of Test cricket. But Maxwell’s 140 from 144 for Yorkshire against Durham in the County Championship last night provided a portrait of his attributes in the format that the man himself considers his game to be best suited to.
Against an attack including highly-rated seamer Graham Onions, Australian John Hastings and clear Division 1 leading wicket-taker Chris Rushworth, Maxwell played with flair even after walking to the crease with the team at 4/73, which quickly became 5/79.
There will be concerns, of course, over his brazen style, especially given the farcical manner of Australia’s Trent Bridge debacle, with the batsmen blasted for being too aggressive under the circumstances. The reality is, however, that the collapse was caused by far more fundamental technical problems: an inability to play the ball late or under the eyes.
There are no guarantees that Maxwell can solve this problem – but who else can? Experts such as Ricky Ponting have identified a generational problem against the moving ball, which can only be remedied by experience and practise in hostile conditions.
Right now, the selectors have a golden opportunity to give one of the players of the future such valuable experience. At 26, Maxwell is at the ideal age to begin his Test career in earnest.
Such a prodigious batting talent cannot be allowed to slide back into the wilderness. It’s time for Glenn Maxwell to forget about his bowling, and lay claim to the middle-order position that can be his for a decade. Right now Australia need a new run-scorer at 5 or 6, and Maxwell has the ability to be that man.
Now is the time for the Australian selectors, coaching staff and team to back Glenn Maxwell to the hilt, and then sit back and watch the fireworks.
Dan Liebke
Expert
Great article. This guy gets it.
rtp
Guest
Look at Australian players with outstanding talent. There is Lynn and there is Maxwell. That is it. There are others who are pretty good - Burns, Khwaja and a whole host of ok players. But Maxwell and Lynn are the only ones who can look like they are a class above the others. The likes of Cowan and Voges do just fine against middling bowling line ups but they won't ever average 45-50 in tests because the step up is just too hard. Yes I realise Maxwell's temperament can be shocking (his defensive technique is actually decent) but if you want someone who will consistently make 30s for Australia then pick Voges or Cowan or Khawaja. If you want someone to be a world class player then you have to give Maxwell a chance. He has as much talent as A B de Villiers. He might not make it of course because of his temperament but I would rather give him an extended run then continue with middling players who have no hope of being world class players.
Naresh Kumar Sharma
Guest
Picking Glen Maxwell for batting position at 5 or 6 is good idea since he has all the strokes and manageable defence to take the initiative away from opposition. Maxwell should be given a free licence by Australian coaches to play his game. Besides this, he should be given a longer run in the Test team. Maxwell despite playing some unorthodox shots has bit of a Ponting flair in him. After departure of Andrew Symonds, Australia have not found a batsmen in the lower middle-order who can stop the collapse and take the game away from opposition. Maxwell could be the answer otherwise Australia would waste this prodigious talent. Maxwell inclusion would also increase intensity,energy and exuberance to Aussie team.
dan ced
Guest
Klinger has been in better form than Maxwell. Maxwell has gotten 2 decent scores, Klinger has gotten 7 centuries and a handful of half centuries across the 3 county formats for Gloucs.
JimmyB
Guest
Stokes isn't a slogger. I'm basing the Maxwell argument on what I've read, heard and been told. No I don't think Faulkner's drink driving is fine and frankly I've got no idea why you think I would. It's a complete non sequitur. You sound just a touch bitter fella, has something happened?
Quitwhinging
Guest
"Stokes isn't a slogger" He is, all he does is try to bash everything with a defence JUST good enough to stop the balling hitting the stumps. Are you basing "Maxwell's outlook on cricket and life hasn't been well received" argument on him being dropped for 1 t20 game then coming right back into the side??. Because I doubt anyone within the Yorkshire side either player or support staff would publicly lash out a player. I seriously doubt anyone would tell you either. I suppose Faulkner being done for drink driving is fine then?
Larney
Guest
Useless players don't win AB Awards.
Asher England
Roar Rookie
To clarify, my post Ashes top 7: 1. Warner 2. Burns 3. Smith 4. Khawaja 5. Maxwell 6. M. Marsh 7. Nevill
Asher England
Roar Rookie
Hey guys, A useful read here: http://www.cricket.com.au/news/glenn-maxwell-yorkshire-australia-test-red-ball-cricket-jason-gillespie-endorses-plan/2015-08-10 Among other things, it corrects a mistake of mine in the article - after Maxwell's 140 for Yorkshire his average is now just north of 40, at 40.37. Definitely a record that stands up to any of the other batsmen being considered, with the exception of Chris Lynn's 45.88. Here's a short list of batsmen likely to come into contention in my opinion (in no particular order): Glenn Maxwell (34 matches, age 26) - avg. 40.37, 5 hundreds, 12 fifties Usman Khawaja (89 matches, age 28) - avg. 39.98, 13 hundreds, 29 fifties Chris Lynn (35 matches, age 25) - avg. 45.88, 5 hundreds, 11 fifties Joe Burns (60 matches, age 25) - avg. 40.93, 8 hundreds, 24 fifties Cameron Bancroft (24 matches, age 22) - avg. 37.38, 4 hundreds, 6 fifties Peter Handscomb (43 matches, age 24) - avg. 35.05, 4 hundreds, 16 fifties You could also make cases for Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head, but I suspect we won't see them in the squad for another couple of years. My first picks would be Burns to open when Rogers retires, Maxwell in for Shaun Marsh, Khawaja in for Clarke (after the Ashes) and Lynn first reserve, or maybe replacing Voges. Again, thanks heaps for your comments guys, I know my Maxwell proposal might be a little crazy, but I definitely appreciate the debate!
Fivehole
Guest
Where is the "Ha" in the top corner?
JimmyB
Guest
If you say so Nic, although I think you might find many many people who disagree.
Nic
Guest
Maxwell is a far more talented and technically correct batsman than either Stokes or Ali However, the word on the street is that he has had his head turned by making millions in India Shame, as he has massive potential
Asher England
Roar Rookie
I reckon it's a bit unfair to criticise players for their perceived personalities anyway, a caricature that we receive through the media. Not sure why Maxwell and Faulkner are singled out anyway; Warner and Mitch Marsh are two other Test players who have had bad off-field patches. And I agree wholeheartedly with Ronan on Faulkner. I'd be getting him straight into the Bangladesh squad when his suspension is over. Huge potential. On the Stokes/Ali partnership: it's hard to criticise England when they're demolishing us, but I actually think playing both Stokes and Ali is a mistake. The series result doesn't change the fact that Ali is a mediocre spinner at best, while Stokes is still averaging 40+ with the ball in Test cricket. On challenging wickets and against competent batting lineups (i.e. - not ours) I think the English attack will struggle. Anyway, in this article I'm advocating playing Maxwell as a specialist batsman - his bowling is of little to no value to us in any case (we already have a competent offspinner, and Maxwell's not particularly good anyway). His value to us is as a middle-order batsman, and he should be told that by the Aussie coaching staff/selectors so that he stops wasting time working hard on his bowling.
Red Kev
Roar Guru
No, I am saying you select both as a pair - Maxwell is a bat who bowls a bit and Faulkner is a bowler who bats a bit - and between them you get half an extra batsman and half an extra bowler. Both of them fail the attitude test at their primary role. Hyper aggressive with ball in hand is Faulkner (his ODI innings are not slap-happy they are Bevan measured, he is a closer. Hyper aggressive is Maxwell with ball in hand. He has hard hands and goes at the bowling, an approach we have just seen exposed as fatally flawed. With the ball he is a containing bowler. Worse, both players have just had their immaturity off-field (and Maxwell's more worryingly within the team environment) exposed while playing this season.
JimmyB
Guest
Have you had a look at his numbers this season for Yorkshire? Apart from this hundred, he's been very poor. They take their cricket very seriously in Yorkshire, evidently Maxwell's outlook on cricket and life hasn't been well received. Stokes isn't a slogger at all, Ali doesn't mind having a go at the bowling, but to his credit he's been very good at it this series.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Red Kev you are mistaking limited overs Faulkner with long-form Faulkner (as so many people do). At FC level he is actually a circumspect batsman happy to grind out an innings. Most of his best knocks for Tas in the Shield have been these types of innings, rather than slaphappy ones.
Quitwhinging
Guest
I suppose they wax lyrical over Stokes and Ali who ARE sloggers?
Quitwhinging
Guest
Faulkner averages 23 with the ball and 31 with the bat. Maxwell averages over 40 with the bat and a decent enough spinner. Both have superior FC records than Stokes and Ali. So pray tell how do they not "have the maturity to play test cricket"
Quitwhinging
Guest
James Faulkner done for drink driving. He still plays. Blows you small little mind, doesn't it
BurgyGreen
Guest