Opinion
Last week the Australians got themselves off to strong start in this thrilling Ashes series, but they must continue with their winning ways if they are to win a highly coveted away Ashes — and it starts by bringing in Glenn Maxwell.
Maxwell possesses the ideal skills with both bat and ball to combat this new-age England side. With the bat Maxwell can score runs quickly and aggressively putting the pressure back on to the England bowlers.
While Australia will be very wary not to try and match England at their own game, Maxwell’s ability to pile on runs cannot be ignored.
Maxwell’s spin bowling could also prove key to removing the attacking English batsmen.
We have seen in recent years how effective spin bowling is in white ball cricket, and with England virtually batting as if they were playing the shorter formats, a second genuine spinner could prove a master stroke.
The Aussies need to change something in their game if they want to stay with the English side this Ashes series. Despite winning the match, they were never in full control with England largely dictating the flow of the game.
Pat Cummins’ men were always on the back foot, reacting to their opposition’s every move, rather than being proactive. Australia was good enough to, just, stay in the contest in the first Test, but eventually the flood gates will open in the coming Tests if nothing changes.
Although Maxwell’s red ball cricket has been lean over the past few years, his desire to play at the top level has not. This was exemplified in Amazon’s The Test – Season 2 where he opened up about his devastation of just missing out on selection in Sri Lanka last year when Travis Head was under an injury cloud.
He is desperate to play Test cricket at the highest level, and would love to reward selectors, his teammates and the Australian fans with a barnstorming Ashes series.
Maxwell enjoyed a solid IPL season this year with the bat scoring 400 runs in 14 innings with an average of 33 striking at 183. He was not offered the ball much, only bowling 10 overs that went for 94 runs with a return of 3 wickets. T20 form, as we know, does not translate to Test form but it does help with players’ confidence.
With Maxwell in the side, one player would have to sit out and it would make sense to sit out one of the three quicks. Cameron Green is the key to allowing Maxwell into the side due to his exceptional pace bowling that can be utilised in place of one of Australia’s first-class quicks.
With Green, Australia still have three genuine quicks and they also have the unique advantage of playing two spinners in Maxwell and Nathan Lyon.
This would obviously be a tremendously bold call playing two spinners and dropping a fast bowler in England, but with old enemy playing unconventionally, Australia too needs to come up with some of their own unconventional initiatives. Setting defensive fields on day one, morning one of a Test match will not cut it.
An Australian counterattack to Bazball could well be Maxwell paired with Travis Head out in the middle providing very entertaining viewing for Australian fans, with both known for their aggressive scoring.
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