Cricket Australia insist there’s no vendetta against snubbed stars Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade

Australian selectors have jumped to defend themselves against suggestions of a vendetta against snubbed stars Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade after the pair were overlooked for the Sri Lanka series.

• ‘Had a gutful’: Gamble selectors had to make
• How Dusty’s coach helped Pucovski to Test call up

National selector Trevor Hohns has defended his communication with players and denied any vendetta from his panel against overlooked stars Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade.

Hohns refused to admit selectors had made mistakes in the original side they picked to combat India, but the ruthless axing of Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, Peter Handscomb and Aaron Finch for the “revamped” Test squad to face Sri Lanka was acknowledgment things had “deteriorated”.

Maxwell and Wade’s dreams of making a Test match comeback now hang by a thread after they were snubbed from the significant point in Australia’s Ashes countdown.

Glenn Maxwell hasn’t played Test cricket since 2017. Picture: Getty

MORE CRICKET NEWS

YOUNG GUN: How Pucovski’s dreams came true

NEXT UP: Pace duo entering uncharted waters

Hohns has been picking Australian teams on and off for the past 25 years and admits the ball-tampering crisis and the lack of depth in domestic cricket has made this an “unprecedented” time in the game and the toughest professional challenge of his life.

Selectors have been under siege as much as the players in the wake of the comprehensive beating by India, and Hohns made the frank concession yesterday that the entire selection system — like other CA departments — would be up for “review”.

However, Hohns did take a thinly veiled swipe at scheduling that compromises the national team.

“The Big Bash is a very, very good product for CA and it’s just unfortunate that there isn’t any red-ball cricket. How we rectify that is in the hands of CA,” he said.

LISTEN: There’s a new Cricket Unfiltered Podcast, which will take you behind the scenes at Fox Cricket with interviews with commentators Isa Guha and Adam Gilchrist as well as Fox Sports’ Head of TV Steve Crawley and the General Manager of Fox Cricket Matt Weiss.

Cricket Australia National Selector Trevor Hohns says communication with snubbed players is fine. Picture: AAP

Maxwell has averaged 53 in first-class cricket since he was last called in as a reverse Test batsman last summer against England while Wade has been brushed despite topping the Sheffield Shield run-scoring and averaging 63 this season.

Fringe Australian players Nathan Coulter-Nile and Ashton Agar have publicly launched stinging criticism of selectors in the past week for their poor communication, and Hohns yesterday got on the front foot to defend his transparency and accessibility in dealing with jilted stars.

“When we select a side, players are notified by myself — this is what I do,” said Hohns.

“They’re notified when they’re in and those who have been left out of the previous team or squad get notified. They are given a reason … because I’m upfront and say the truth.

“From there if there’s any further clarity required we encourage them to call me back or ask for another meeting so we can go through it again.

“… Sometimes they may understand, (other times) they may not.

“But there’s an open line of communication … if they’re unclear about anything we’d like to think they can get some clarity and take some ownership of their careers.”

Nathan Coulter-Nile (right) and Ashton Agar (wearing cap) have both been critical of the feedback they’ve received from selectors. Picture: AAP

MORE CRICKET NEWS

CONTENDER: Wade bats way into World Cup, Ashes frame

PLANNING: Pink stink gives tourists better end of day-night deal

Social media explodes every time Maxwell is omitted — but Hohns insisted categorically that there was no personality issue.

“When we look at teams now we obviously take into account players’ characters, but I can assure you there is no issue (with Maxwell) whatsoever,” said Hohns, who also denied selectors owed Maxwell an apology for allegedly misleading him on his Test chances against Pakistan in October.

“Right here right now we are wanting him to focus on white ball cricket with the World Cup coming up … however he makes it very clear he would like to play Test cricket, there is no doubt about that.”

Matthew Wade is the leading runscorer in the Shield this summer. Picture:

Despite the fact Wade has made his runs this year on the country’s most lively pitch in Hobart, often coming in with Tasmania four down for not many, Hohns suggested the fighting left-hander needs to bat in the top four for his State in the last half of the Shield season to be any chance for the Ashes.

“It’s fantastic to see him scoring a lot of runs … if Matthew wants to be considered as a straight-out batsman it would be nice to see him batting a little higher up for Tasmania and that conversation has been had,” said Hohns.

Every Test, ODI, T20I, and BBL match live. SIGN UP NOW!