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Why Glenn Maxwell deserves Test selection

(AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Roar Guru
20th May, 2018
24

With the new captain, coach and some introspection of teams culture and attitude, Australian cricket is making waves for all the right reasons.

But Allan Border added Glenn Maxwell’s name in the Test line up, calling him good enough to be successful in the longest format of the game.

After being called into the test squad last year against India, Maxwell has scored 259 runs in eight innings at 37, spreading across Tests in India and Bangladesh.

Before 2017 he played three of his Tests in India and the UAE, which stretches way back to 2014. His dry run in the first-class arena, where he couldn’t get a hundred for the three years before 2017, was perhaps his undoing, and getting into loggerheads with the coach and not being in the good books of captain Steve Smith didn’t help.

But since then he has had a most productive season in first-class cricket, scoring his best 278 runs in the 2017-18 season and capping off his most productive season to date with 707 runs at 50.50.

Glenn Maxwell

(Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

He also gave a standout performance in Australia’s T20 tri-series tournament against New Zealand and England in February, with scores of 40 not out, 103 not out, 39, 31 and 20 not out.

There is no question about his talent and skills in shorter formats, but Maxwell’s ability to contribute with the ball and his live-wire fielding, resulting in some stunning catches and tight runouts, help his case.

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Mitch Marsh’s medium pace piped him for a place in the Test line-up for the Ashes and South African series, but with Australia’s next assignment in the UAE, where spin will play a major role, Australia A’s upcoming tour of India will be an important opportunity for Maxwell in the consideration of spots up for grabs after David Warner and Steven Smith were suspended.

Should Maxwell perform well in the given opportunity, there is no doubt his name will not be missed on tour to UAE. The backing of captain Tim Paine and coach Justin Langer will do him a world of good.

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