Who is to blame for the downfall of Australian cricket’s great unfulfilled talent, Glenn Maxwell?
Glenn Maxwell’s $1.76m IPL deal is gone, a Test recall seems fanciful and even his ODI spot is on tenterhooks. But where did it all go wrong for Australia’s precocious superstar?
On Friday March 17 last year, Glenn Maxwell announced himself to the world as a Test centurion and it appeared Australian cricket’s biggest riddle was bearing fruit.
In the second Test of Australia’s spicy series in India, in Ranchi, Maxwell sliced a four through the slips to bring up his maiden Test ton, roared in celebration and embraced skipper Steve Smith in what felt like the breakthrough moment for the mercurial talent.
Having already conquered one-day and Twenty20 cricket for Australia, locking in a Test spot was the final frontier for the Big Show — a nickname he hated, but cemented by way of key matchwinning performances.
MORE CRICKET NEWS:
HUSSEY: The true culprit’s behind Australia’s ‘selfish’ culture
TOUGH TIMES: Rock bottom? You should’ve seen the 80s...
The subsequent 20 months have been a wild ride — mostly a slide — for Maxwell, who on Friday morning woke up to news that his $1.76 million IPL contract had been torn up.
Even with the backing of Delhi Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting — who has made it his personal challenge in the past 12 months to get the best out of the 30-year-old — Maxwell found himself on the chopping block when the franchise announced its retention list.
Maxwell’s breakthrough century bought him just three more Tests.
The fourth Test of the India series at Dharamsala, which brought forth scores of 8 and 45.
Then scores of 23, 14, 38 and an unbeaten 25 in Bangladesh.
All up, 153 runs at 30.6 in the Tests after making a potentially career-defining century.
LISTEN: to celebrate the 50th episode of Cricket Unfiltered Australian legends Allan Border and Michael Hussey join Andrew Menczel to discuss all the big cricket news
You can listen to Cricket Unfiltered on all Podcast Apps and Spotify
And then he was surplus to requirements for Australia’s crushing Ashes victory and didn’t get a look-in for the South Africa tour two months later.
Not even the suspensions to top order batting stars Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft was enough to give Maxwell a reprieve.
Once considered a subcontinental specialist whose familiarity with the low, slow wickets ensured he was among the first picked for those tours, Maxwell was a stunning omission from Australia’s away series defeat to Pakistan in the UAE.
MORE CRICKET NEWS:
BLOODBATH: Maxwell, Finch caught up in $6.5m IPL carnage
SPICY: Kohli vows to fight fire with fire
So here we are on the verge of another Test summer with Maxwell seemingly as far from the Test team as he’s been in years, without an IPL deal and with good mate Aaron Finch admitting the all-rounder’s hold on an ODI spot is tenuous at best — all with a World Cup seven months away.
“If you look at Glenn’s stats recently, he probably hasn’t made as many runs as he would have liked as a pure batsman,” said Finch.
“Therefore for him to be in the side and as an all-rounder, he’s probably batting in that No.7 spot.
“Guys are playing reasonably well around him. ‘Maxi’ would have liked some more runs, and obviously wants to bat higher.
“But the reality is he’s in the side as a bit of an all-rounder but he hasn’t scored as many runs that he needed to over the last little while in one-day cricket to probably justify taking up a top-four spot.”
Truth be told, it’s never been easy to tell where the blame lies in the Maxwell saga.
A precocious talent, Maxwell is often unfairly pinned as a lazy trainer with a penchant for flair rather than hard graft.
Then-captain Steve Smith touched on those traits when opening up on the selectors’ decision to brush Maxwell from the ODI squad last summer.
“Just looking at the way he trains, I think he could train a little bit smarter,” Smith said at the time.
“We’ve all seen the way he can come out and play and do all his funky stuff and be pretty cool with that, but when he puts his head down he’s actually a really good batsman, as we’ve seen in Shield cricket — he’s got some big runs there.
“If he keeps his head switched on and trains really well and focuses on basic things probably more than the expansive things then I think that will help him have his consistency.”
SUPERCOACH NEWS
NEW TALENT: SuperCoach experts rate the top cheapies
TEAMS: Every squad updated with the latest announcements
REVEALED: The Phantom names his team
Maxwell has himself owned up to being his own worst enemy at times — but he’s also been a victim of circumstance on more than one occasion.
Desperate bids to push his Test case have been hamstrung by scheduling quirks which require him to represent his nation — in ODI or T20I — instead of showcasing his red-ball qualities.
Cricket Australia was accused of sending mixed messages to Maxwell when he was omitted from the Australia A tour of India ahead of the Pakistan Test series — denying him a chance to prove his worth where others used the four-day matches to force their way into the team.
Even now, Maxwell is being denied a shot in the final Shield round before the first Test squad of the summer is named — because he’s, instead, representing Australia.
There’s still time for Australian cricket to see the best of Maxwell, of course.
At 30, he’s the same age as Michael Hussey was when the late-bloomer finally forced his way into the Ricky Ponting’s side — before hanging up the boots on a fine career 79 Tests later.
The time is right to see if Maxwell can enjoy a similar renaissance.
Every Test, ODI, T20I, and BBL match live. Get 1 month free Sport HD plus Entertainment with no lock-in contract and no iQ4 box fee. T&C apply. SIGN UP NOW!
Fresh faces to push Test cases in Aus A squad
A suite of fresh faces are poised to included in an Australia A squad that will take on India A later this month, as the battle for the remaining spot in the Aussie Test team heats up.
‘I’ll be half a chance’: Harris puts hand up for Aussie selection
Australian selectors will provide an early steer on potential replacements for Cameron Green when they unveil an Australia A squad, with a former Test opener appearing to be a good chance for selection.