Mark Waugh argues the case for Glenn Maxwell to join Test team in Dubai
FORMER National Selector Mark Waugh is adamant one wildcard batsman could have made a difference for Australia in the Test series against Pakistan.
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FORMER National Selector Mark Waugh says Glenn Maxwell should be in Dubai for the Test series against Pakistan.
Waugh finished up on the panel two months ago and is adamant the Victorian could have made a difference in the desert.
The Fox Cricket analyst slammed the concentration levels of the Australian batsmen in the first innings as they collapsed to lose 10-60.
Waugh said the cupboard is reasonably bare for batting talent outside this squad, but emphasised that not bringing controversial omission Maxwell was a mistake.
“It’s tough because we’ve lost our two best batsmen (Steve Smith, David Warner), haven’t we? And three counting (Cameron) Bancroft, so there’s only a certain pool of players that are good enough to play Test cricket,” said Waugh on Fox.
“It’s not the time to panic, I don’t think there’s many players there that would make a big difference — the only player I would have picked is Glenn Maxwell, that’s not there.
“I think he’s a guy with ability, can change the game, he’s a good player of spin, he can actually take the attack to the bowling side.
“So that’s the only guy I would have that’s not there, and maybe you can bring back Matt Renshaw for the second Test. But all the other guys? That’s about the best we’ve got at the moment.”
Waugh said there were no excuses for collapsing in the stunning fashion Australia did on day three.
“To me, they’re not watching the ball close enough. They’re thinking about other things, they’re not focusing on that delivery,” said Waugh.
“(Mohammad) Abbas is a good bowler, but he should not get 4-29 bowling at that pace.
“If it’s Waqar Younis or Brett Lee, okay ... 4-29 is acceptable. But not a medium-fast bowler.”
Originally published as Mark Waugh argues the case for Glenn Maxwell to join Test team in Dubai
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