Glenn Maxwell receives support after Test captain Steve Smith questions training habits
CRITICISING Test captain Steve Smith is like shooting Bambi but plenty think the skipper’s public dressing down of Glenn Maxwell was out of line. HAVE YOUR SAY
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THE support has come thick and fast for dumped Aussie batsman Glenn Maxwell who has taken his game to another level this summer yet still fallen out of the national Test and one-day teams.
And national captain Steve Smith has also copped criticism for his public slapdown of Maxwell, the second instance of the skipper putting the Victorian under the pump.
Maxwell was rebuked by Smith for failing to show the consistency he expected in training or with the bat as an explanation for his omission from the one-day squad to play England.
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That criticism came despite Maxwell topping the Sheffield Shield run-scoring table with 573 runs at an average of 73.75 this summer, including a career-best 278 against New South Wales after he was dumped from the Test team, batting at number three for the Vics using a new technique developed through hours and hours of work in the nets.
The criticism of Maxwell’s training, which Smith said “could be smarter”, has also created confusion given the amount of time the Victorian has spent in the national system this year.
Maxwell was under the watch of national coaches for nearly three months during Test and one-day tours in India, when he scored a maiden hundred for Australia, nearly a month in the UK for the Champions Trophy, plus time with the Test team in Bangladesh.
It’s understood that never during that period did Smith raise issues with Maxwell’s training efforts, and his state and Big Bash teammates also have queries about the captain’s concerns.
“It’s a surprise to a lot of people. I’ve been close to Glenn and seen him train for a while,” said all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who has played and trained with Maxwell for Victoria, the Melbourne Stars, and with the Australian one-day team.
“I’ve seen a big improvement to be honest, and the way he has played in Shield cricket, and for the Stars, he is definitely on the right trend.
“He’s averaging so much in shield cricket … it’s impressive.
“The thing with Maxy, because he is so talented, and things that are impossible for people like me, he makes them look easy. The hard thing is, when it doesn’t go right, that looks worse.
“I think he can be one of the best in the world.”
Smith’s public criticism of Maxwell also has not gone down well.
Former Test opener Michael Slater said it seemed like there was “something else” going on, while former Australian bowler Brendan Julian said Smith went too far.
“I was over there in Bangladesh, he (Maxwell) trained well, he played well, he was in the Test side,” Julian told Fox Sports.
“I don’t like the idea of the Australian captain publicly saying those things about any player.
“They’re obviously saying it to get the best of him but hang on, he scored a 200-odd (278) and 100-odd (96 vs. Western Australia) in Shield cricket, he’s done everything he had to do.”
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