Glenn Maxwell could finally solve Aussie cricket mystery, but 18-month wait could end Test dream

Glenn Maxwell’s floundering Test career seems destined to be one of Australia’s cricket’s biggest mysteries, even after his World Cup heroics.

Glenn Maxwell returns home this week as a national hero.

The World Cup champion has smacked three legacy-defining centuries since touching down in India two months ago, each remarkable in its own right. After blasting the fastest World Cup hundred in Delhi, he became the first cricketer to score a double-century in an ODI run chase, rescuing Australia from certain defeat in Mumbai.

Then earlier this week, Maxwell equalled the Australian record for the fastest century in men’s T20Is, pulling off another unlikely run chase in Guwahati.

It was his fifth international century in India, and only one Australian boasts more – the legendary Ricky Ponting.

Watch India v Australia on Kayo Sports. Every T20 Live with no ad breaks during play. Join Kayo now and start streaming instantly >

Courtesy of his Indian Premier League exploits, Maxwell is well accustomed to batting in the subcontinent’s unique conditions. He averages 36.27 in Asia, considerably higher than any other continent.

Maxwell has six international hundreds in Asia, but only two on home soil; unlike most of his Australian teammates, he averages more overseas than at home.

“Since the World Cup in 2011, it feels like we’ve had hundreds of opportunities to go to India,” Maxwell explained to Fox Cricket in August.

“There’s opportunities to go over to India a fair bit more than there was in the previous generation.

“It was more of a culture shock for the previous generation going there.”

Glenn Maxwell’s international batting average by continent

36.27 – Asia

31.23 – Oceania

29.96 – Europe

26.25 – Africa

17.66 – Americas

Glenn Maxwell of Australia. Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Maxwell has been classified as a subcontinent specialist his entire career; all seven of his Test appearances have been in Asia, the most recent coming during the 2017 tour of Bangladesh.

The highlight of Maxwell’s stop-start Test career was the 2017 Ranchi Test. Australia was in a spot of bother at 4-140 when he joined Steve Smith in the middle, with the pair combining for a 191-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

The knock was remembered for patience rather than extravagance, bringing up a maiden Test hundred in 180 deliveries to help Australia clinch a draw. However, after failing to reach fifty in his following seven Test innings, he was dropped for Shaun Marsh ahead of the 2017/18 Ashes series.

He almost earned a long-awaited Test recall during last year’s tour of Sri Lanka, picked as an injury reserve for Travis Head, who was nursing a hamstring complaint. However, Head recovered before the series opener in Galle.

The right-hander also had a decent chance of joining the Test squad for this year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India, but a gruesome leg injury denied him the opportunity to push his case for selection. Peter Handscomb was chosen as the specialist batter in his absence.

Maxwell’s skillset is suited for south Asian conditions, with his crafty off-spin and counterattacking middle-order batting making him the ideal No. 6 in any Test side.

However, Australia is not scheduled for another Test tour of the subcontinent until early 2025; Maxwell will be approaching his 37th birthday when the two-Test series against Sri Lanka gets underway.

Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell. Picture: AFP PHOTO / Munir UZ ZAMAN

Maxwell’s floundering Test career seems destined to be one of Australia’s cricket’s biggest mysteries. How is it that a player with such undeniable talent has never had an opportunity to don the baggy green on home soil?

The 35-year-old’s first-class batting average sits at a respectable 39.49, but his lack of Sheffield Shield cricket has proven a barrier to higher honours. Maxwell has only played one Sheffield Shield match since October 2019, with international white-ball commitments preventing him from plying his trade in the first-class competition.

It’s become a rarity to spot Maxwell donning the creams and facing a red ball.

“I think absolutely he should be playing red-ball cricket for Australia,” former Victorian teammate Bryce McGain told SEN Sportsday this week.

“The hundred he scored in India was absolutely outstanding, he’s just been a victim of scheduling and dinky little one-day grouping games for no reason.

“We’ve forgotten about every single series of them, they just don’t matter. We know the World Cup, we know the value of that tournament playing one-day cricket, but he’s been a victim of this white-ball scheduling.

“I think he needs every opportunity. He would be outstanding as the all-rounder for Australia.

“I think any conditions because if you’re the opposition, he’s the last man that you’ll want to come in.

“He can be absolutely dynamic and take the game away.

“I think he is exactly what we need.”

Despite his World Cup heroics, Maxwell’s chances of a Test recall in the upcoming home summer are close to zero. Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh occupy the middle-order roles, with West Australian all-rounder Cameron Green waiting in the wings.

His baggy green could be gathering dust for at least another 18 months, but the subcontinent specialist might be eyeing the 2025 Test tour of Sri Lanka as the final opportunity to revive his Test dream.

Originally published as Glenn Maxwell could finally solve Aussie cricket mystery, but 18-month wait could end Test dream