Lashing out hard at all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Australia's selection committee chairman Rod Marsh made it clear that performance comes over reputation and added that he has run out of patience with the reigning Australian ODI Player of the Year’s inconsistency. Announcing the Australian ODI squad for the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka which will be held next month, Marsh, however, revealed that the door is still open to Maxwell for making a comeback once he rectifies the flaws in his game.
"If you want to play cricket for Australia, you should be consistent,” Marsh said. "If you are a batsman you should get consistent runs. If you are a bowler, you should get consistent wickets, or bowl well. Glenn has too many games where he doesn't contribute with the bat. He is averaging less than 10 runs in Australia’s last 10 one-day internationals so the numbers speak for themselves.”
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The former Australian cricketer said that far too many chances have been given to Maxwell to redeem himself but to no avail.
"As far as I am concerned, he has had a lot of chances. It got to that stage - we couldn't go on any longer,” he said. "He is a hell of a good fieldsman, as we know, he is a handy bowler, and, at his best, he is one of our first picked in a one-day team. But if he is not making runs, then we have got to find a solution to it.”
Maxwell must have got a hint of things to come after he was overlooked for the Sri Lanka Tests despite his potential use as a spinner, even after Steve o’Keefe was ruled out of the tour with an injury. Australia opted to rope in uncapped Jon Holland and named Maxwell as his replacement in the Australia A side which will take on South Africa A in two first-class matches.
Marsh conceded that the move was planned as they wanted to see how well the Victorian allrounder maximised his potential in all formats of the game.
"The solution we have come up with is to put him back a step or two and see if he can get some runs there (for the Australia A team) on a consistent basis. When you have got as much talent as that, you should be able to play all forms," Marsh said.
Maxwell determined to earn a recall
Reacting to the news of his omission, Maxwell revealed that he had a healthy discussion with Marsh over the issue and that he was looking to take the disappointment at missing out into a positive that will make him more determined to make a comeback sooner rather than later.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed to miss out on the squad but I've had some good chats to (selectors) Rod (Marsh) and Trevor (Hohns),” Maxwell told cricket.com.au. "I got some really honest feedback which was good to hear but there are also things I need to work on.”
"It is hard; I'm going to be watching on TV and seeing Australia play in coloured clothing and I'm not going to be there, but it's one of those things where it'll probably only drive me to train harder and make sure I'm there for the next tour. There's plenty of positives. Lots of players miss out on squads and get dropped at different times, and you see their character shine through – I'm hoping I can show mine and get back in that squad and show that I deserve to be there," he added.
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Marsh also revealed details on his discussion with the enigmatic cricketer and expressed hope that he gets back to his best soon.
"I thought he was terrific," Marsh said when asked how Maxwell had received news of his omission. "He took it as well as what could be expected. No-one likes being dropped but he understood the reasons and he also understands what he has got to do. Maxi at his best is one of our best."
Australia’s ODI squad for the tour of Sri Lanka
Just like the Test series, the Australian squad will only feature two specialist spinners in Nathan Lyon and youngster Adam Zampa while all-rounder Moises Henriques will replace Glenn Maxwell from the squad that won the tri-series in the Caribbean featuring West Indies and South Africa.
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), George Bailey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa
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