Cricket 2022: If Glenn Maxwell is to become Australia’s Indian test saviour, he has to play for Vics

If Australia is warming to Glenn Maxwell as a potential saviour on the sub-continent next year, then this is how they may balance his ODI and red-ball duties to have him primed to fire.

Glenn Maxwell will need to don the Big V this Shield season if he is going to be considered for Test duties. Picture: AAP Image

If selectors believe Glenn Maxwell can be Australia’s potential saviour in India next year, ‘Project Maxi’ must start now.

This summer’s schedule is so jam packed that if Australia doesn’t plan for Maxwell’s Test comeback, then yet another season will race past without the X-factor playing any first-class cricket.

Maxwell has not played a red ball game since 2019 (or a Test since 2017) and while selectors were prepared to pick him in Sri Lanka regardless, there are at least two precious opportunities for him to play Sheffield Shield this summer that cannot be wasted.

With the spotlight squarely on Travis Head’s overseas future following his run battles in Pakistan and Sri Lanka this year, Maxwell would need to be up and running as a batsman first and foremost, with his spin bowling as a bonus because as Greg Chappell once said; nothing unsettles a team as much as a bits and pieces all-rounder.

Watch every match of the women’s T20I Tri-Series in Ireland Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Glenn Maxwell hasn’t played red ball cricket since 2019. That has to change if he is to play Test cricket for Australia again. Picture: AAP Image

Technically, Maxwell can play in Victoria’s Shield match against Tasmania at the MCG starting on November 24 — but only if the selectors are all in on ‘Project Maxi’ for India, because the red ball fixture starts only two days after Australia’s three-match ODI series against England.

Then there’s a round six Shield game against NSW starting on December 1 which Maxwell could play at the Junction Oval.

A third Shield fixture for Maxwell isn’t completely beyond the realms either: Should Australia miss the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup in mid-November, there’s a Victorian clash against Queensland on November 10 as well.

But meticulous planning for India is required because if the feeling is Maxwell isn’t being groomed for a likely Test comeback, then he’d be better off resting from those Shield games given the load he would have just come through in the World Cup.

Glenn Maxwell will need some red-ball fixtures to make the necessary adjustments to his game.

That’s why an early decision has to be made on whether or not to commit to ‘Project Maxwell’, because if India is the priority then selectors may well need to consider resting him from the England ODIs if it’s the only way of balancing out his workload so he can play Shield.

Selectors may feel Maxwell is the kind of cricketer who can come in and play a massive Test series in India with no first-class match play under his belt, but it’s a gigantic gamble for such a vital mission, when there is a rare opportunity to get him in whites.

Here are other lessons Australia must learn from their Sri Lankan implosion to prepare for next February’s tour of India.

Make the SCG a turner

Australia could do itself a huge favour for the Indian Test series, if it turns back the clock and puts in a quiet order for the Sydney Cricket Ground to produce an old fashioned turner for the final Test of the summer against South Africa.

For two years running, Australia has not got its bowling right in Sydney, resulting in two frustrating draws, and conditions which demanded they pick two spinners could be a huge boost – not only in forcing a result against the Proteas, but preparing for their Indian odyssey a month later.

Whether it’s Mitchell Swepson or Ashton Agar picked to partner Nathan Lyon at the SCG, they would benefit enormously from having a high-stakes hit-out before four Tests in India.

Former Test spinner Stephen O’Keefe believes returning the SCG to its spin origins is a must for Australian cricket if they want to win in the sub-continent.

“I’ve been barking that message for as long as I can remember. How they manufacture that, I don’t know, but I would love to at least have one wicket in the country where (it spins),” said O’Keefe.

“I’d love to see it dried out. If we are fair dinkum about beating India in India, we have to look at trying to replicate that somewhere in the country as much as possible.”

Mitchell Swepson would benefit from a turning SCG pitch this summer to help prepare for the Indian tour. Picture: AFP

Not over for Head

Travis Head is not the first Australian player to struggle in the sub-continent, and it is possible to improve against spin.

Matthew Hayden was a poor player of spin early in his career, then worked on it and came back to India a run-scoring colossus.

Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn all improved against spin through hard work.

Head only needs to look across the dressing room to Usman Khawaja to see a modern player who has completely reinvented his reputation against spin.

Travis Head only needs to look to teammate Usman Khawaja for inspiration on how to turn his game around against spin. Picture: Getty Images

Agar v Kuhnemann

Left-arm finger spinners have never been Australian players of choice. We’ve never had a Daniel Vettori, although he is now in the coaching staff.

But the instinct of selectors that left-arm finger spin was likely to play a crucial role in Sri Lanka was spot on and the art is likely to be critical in India as well.

Who could forget O’Keefe’s 12-70 in Pune in 2017?

Ashton Agar’s untimely injury was a huge blow to Australia in Sri Lanka and a massive summer looms for the tall West Australian as well as his likely challenger, Queenslander Matthew Kuhnemann.

If a spin bowler can get wickets like Kuhnemann did last summer at the Gabba, he should be a player of immediate interest, because everything should be easier elsewhere.

Ashton Agar has been the next cab off the rank for years but faces a challenge from Matt Kuhnemann for next year’s Indian series. Picture: AFP