Darren Lehmann speaks about Glenn Maxwell's future

What's the story?

All-rounder Glenn Maxwell was overlooked by the Australian selectors, when they announced squad for the limited overs series against England.

To everyone's surprise, veteran Cameron White was chosen over Maxwell to replace the injured Chris Lynn.

With a lot of talk surrounding that a rift between Steven Smith and Maxwell is the reason behind the hard-hitting all-rounder's non-selection, coach Darren Lehmann clarified that White was selected because of his good run of form in the Sheffield Shield.

"No, it’s actually about results. Our one-day form has been poor for the past 12 months and we need to change that around, and our middle order hasn’t performed. Glenn over the last 20 games has averaged 22, so that’s not good enough for a man of his talent,” Lehmann told the Australian media.

"We want him to go back (to domestic cricket), play really well, force his way back into the side and if he does that then I’m sure he’ll have a long career with Australia," he added.

In case you didn't know...

One of the most destructive batsmen in ODIs, Maxwell was controversially left out of the hosts' 14-man squad to face England.

The 29-year-old was overlooked at the time of Ashes selection as well, despite making runs in the Sheffield Shield.

The heart of the matter

Although Lehmann suggested that Maxwell's omission was purely due to this form, it is believed that the all-rounder had fallen out with Australia’s skipper.

Last week, Smith had publicly suggested that Maxwell needed to "train a little bit smarter" to make it back to the national side.

However, Maxwell clearly denied the possibility of a rift saying that he gets along well with Smith and they enjoy a good friendship.

What’s next?

After the conclusion of the five-match Ashes Test series that Australia won 4-0 the action has now shifted to the shorter formats.

England defeated the hosts by 5 wickets in the first ODI on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

The 2nd ODI will be played in Brisbane on Friday, January 19.

Author’s take

Australia began the series with a defeat and it was their 7th loss in 8 matches, suggesting that their ODI squad is far from settled and they will have to make the best use of the resources available at their disposal.

The last 12 months have not been good for the world champions as far as limited-overs cricket is concerned and trying various options in the middle-order, that has not performed well, might prove to be a game-changer for them.

However, picking White over Maxwell is a bit of a shocker despite the reasons given by the Australian coach.