Andrew Symonds: Glenn Maxwell is the key to Australia’s T20 success

If Australia are to win the one major trophy that currently eludes them then they must make Glenn Maxwell the focal point of their T20 squad, says Andrew Symonds.

Andrew Symonds says it's time for the Aussies to give Glenn Maxwell a defined role.

With two Twenty20 World Cups in the next two years, it’s never been more important for Australia’s stars to answer the questions that have held them back from T20 success on the international stage.

Next year, the best of the best will head to India and after that we’re on home soil for the 2022 tournament – giving Australia, currently ranked No.1 in the T20 format, an enormous chance to snare a trophy that has eluded us so far.

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But to climb that mountain, Australia will need to find a fix to its middle order – and the man at the centre of that solution is one of the most explosive T20 players on the planet, Glenn Maxwell.

At 32, Maxwell is meant to be at the peak of his powers. They reckon you play your best cricket between 27 and 34, so he’s right in the sweet spot.

And so much of the balance of the Australian team revolves around how he is used.

They’ve been tinkering with that middle order for quite some time – on the recent tour of England, Maxwell batted twice at four and once at six – but moving forward, they need to settle on a spot.

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I don’t think holding him back any more is the go. We can’t be using him as a floater.

The game has changed but as a player, it’s always good to know if you’re going to be used as a proper batsmen or whether you’re going to be a floater, because it can be a tricky role, especially if you’re not playing well.

If Maxwell is the player that they want him to be, and he’s as good as what they say he is, let him bat higher.

You need your best players facing the most balls then you win more games. The longer Maxwell bats, the more damaging he’s going to be.

Once you work out what you’re doing with Maxwell, so many other pieces fall into place.

Is young gun Cameron Green ready to assume the Aussies’ all-rounder role? Picture: Getty Images

Australia has been calling out for a good all-rounder for quite some time.

Since the last World Cup and before that, we were really struggling to find that guy.

Mitch Marsh had a go, when Shane Watson finished. But maybe Cameron Green can be that all-rounder.

Again, it all becomes much clearer if Maxi is given the responsibility of being a key batsman. That also opens the game for Marcus Stoinis, who can win you a game with the bat but maybe not the ball.

Another factor that gives Australia a massive edge is Pat Cummins, who we could see unleashed on this T20 series.

He’s just a world-class bowler and that extra pace makes a difference. Trying to smack a bloke who bowls 130km/h is a lot different to a bloke that bowls 145km/h-plus.

Pat adds an extra string to the bow if he’s going to play, and really strengthens the bowling attack. If he does that, then the bowling or batting all-rounder spot doesn’t become as big an issue for them.

One player I expect we’ll see become a huge part of the Australian T20 side, as well as the one-day and Test teams as we’ve already seen, is Marnus Labuschagne.

Marnus hasn’t played international T20 cricket yet, but I think we can see him develop into that Mike Hussey role in both ODI and T20s.

He can play a really aggressive innings, but he can also play an innings where he comes in under pressure, wickets are falling, and he can build an innings and bat with the lower and middle order. He’s so skilful and he’s good in the long form, so he can use his defensive skills in a pressure situation to get himself into the game and then he can slowly accelerate.

Over the next couple of years, I can see Marnus really develop into a very, very good one-day player — and again the same applies in Twenty20 cricket.

Throw in the leg-spin bowling part of his game and it’s incredibly exciting. The world is his oyster at the moment.

Roy loves what he sees from the improving Marnus Labuschagne. Picture: Getty Images

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Australia v India: Pat Cummins on how to get Virat Kohli out

All told, this series should be a whole heap of fun.

With Virat Kohli knowing he’s going home after the first Test, there’s no way he’ll be leaving anything left in the tank during the white-ball games.

He can go his hardest — and he can give it to the Australian fans, who love to hate him.

Every overseas player coming here wants to do well and have success — it’s a bit like an Aussie going to India.

You want to play well and have that on your resumé.

He’d be champing at the bit to have a big series, as will the Australians to try to prevent that.