Glenn Maxwell eyeing long-awaited Sheffield Shield return ahead of Indian Test tour

Ahead of Australia’s tour of India, superstar all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is hoping to push his Test credentials in the Sheffield Shield.

Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell.

Glenn Maxwell’s three-year Sheffield Shield hiatus will hopefully come to a close this summer, with the Victorian looking to push his Test cricket credentials ahead of Australia’s highly-anticipated tour of India.

The 33-year-old has not played first-class cricket since October 2019, with international commitments and the sport’s crammed schedule repeatedly preventing the right-hander from plying his trade in the Sheffield Shield.

Maxwell is rarely spotted wearing creams on Australian soil — over the past four years, he has made more first-class appearances in England’s County Championship than the Sheffield Shield.

Watch South Africa’s Tour of England. Every ODI & T20 Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

But Maxwell’s drought is expected to finally end later this year, with a window opening for him to play some Sheffield Shield cricket between the T20 World Cup and the Big Bash League.

Australia is scheduled to face England for three ODIs in late November after the T20 World Cup, but barring an unlikely Test call-up, Maxwell has no other international commitments before the BBL gets underway on December 13.

Victoria will face Tasmania at the MCG from November 24 and New South Wales at Junction Oval from December 1 — these fixtures could be crucial to Maxwell reviving his Test career.

And although Sheffield Shield runs are not a prerequisite for Test selection in Asia, it couldn’t hurt Maxwell’s chances of a recall.

“I did actually have a look at the schedule properly yesterday and I think I’m going to be available for a couple of Shield games before the Big Bash,” he told cricket.com.au this week.

“It’s nice to have that to look forward to and potentially get some red-ball cricket finally.

“It’s been a long time and having that taste of just being in the Test squad was so exciting and reinvigorated and reminded myself of where I want to be.

“It’s something that I’ve made no secret about, that I really want to play Test cricket again and I’m just hoping by the end of the summer hopefully I can be somewhere around that Test squad.”

Glenn Maxwell of Victoria. AAP Image/Richard Wainwright

Maxwell averages 43.68 with the bat in the Sheffield Shield, scoring four centuries and 19 fifties for Victoria since making his first-class debut in 2011.

The talented all-rounder played the last of his seven Test matches against Bangladesh in September 2017, but came agonisingly close to a long-awaited Test comeback during Australia’s recent tour of Sri Lanka.

Maxwell was rushed into the Australian squad after Travis Head sustained a hamstring injury ahead of the two-match series, but the South Australian captain recovered in time for the first Test in Galle.

However, Head’s batting left much to be desired, scoring 23 runs in three knocks against the Sri Lankans. The left-hander averages 21.30 with the bat in Asia, passing 50 just once in seven Tests.

Head’s poor run of form in the sub-continent has left the door ajar for Maxwell to potentially replace him at No. 5 for next year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India.

Maxwell boasts a wealth of experience in Asia — his lone Test century came against India in March 2017, a classy 104 in Ranchi, and his off-spin could be a damaging weapon on the turning wickets.

“I’ve been there more times than my Indian wife, so I think I’m well accustomed to the area and well accustomed to the people,” Maxwell continued.

“It’s somewhere where I feel really comfortable, and I’ve played a lot of cricket over there.

“I know that if I can get that opportunity, I know that it’s going to be something that feels comfortable for me and somewhere I know I can be successful.”

Glenn Maxwell’s lone Test century.

Head is expected to retain his spot in the Test XI for the upcoming home summer — he was Australia’s highest run-scorer during last season’s Ashes series with 357 runs at 59.50, including two blistering centuries in Brisbane and Hobart.

But Maxwell will be hoping to dust off his Baggy Green before the Test squad travels to India in February.

Australia will next face Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series, with the first match taking place at Townsville’s Riverway Stadium on Sunday.

Maxwell has been in good form ahead of the historic one-day series, plundering 116 runs in four knocks with the London Spirit in The Hundred, boasting a strike rate of 150.64.