No point thinking about Tests as I'm not next in line, affirms Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell has reckoned that he doesn't need to bother too much time thinking about his Test career as he knows he is not the next in line to break through into the squad. Instead, the T20 specialist is keen to focus on his strong areas and support Aaron Finch ahead of the World Cup next year.
While his Aussie teammates were hard at work to bring the Ashes home at Old Trafford on day three the pivotal Test, Maxwell and his Lancashire team-mate James Faulkner stood by and watched. He was ignored for selection even during the 12 months Steven Smith and David Warner were banned, but Maxwell admitted that it was his own failures in the longest format of the game that has cost him thus far. Maxwell followed up his below-par performances for his county team this season — averaging 19.20 from matches — with mediocre outings in the Sheffield Shield for Victoria.
"I haven't even sought out clarity or anything about Test stuff. I'm not overly too worried about it because I know I'm probably not next in line, so what's the point in thinking about it right now? I've got to be making big hundreds, big scores. And until I even start making some of them there's no real point in me asking. If you average 30 for the season, there's no point in asking 'when am I going to play Test cricket for Australia'," Maxwell told ESPNcricinfo.
What's striking about the 31-year-old is that, despite all the misadventures of the preceding year, he does not carry over any lingering resentment about opportunities missed or selectors not smiling on him.
"With whatever team they picked, we just had to give them as much support as possible. I didn't want to feel salty or anything like that. I just wanted to move on and concentrate on what I need to. You can't play cricket bitter, it detracts from yourself and makes you stop concentrating on what you need to do. I couldn't be happier with the guys they picked, they all played so hard and it was so good to watch, even on TV. I loved watching it and they did such a great job bringing home the Ashes," Maxwell said.
Instead, Maxwell — along with the management and the rest of the team — has shifted their focus to the T20 World Cup at home next year. Given that Australia is yet to claim the ultimate prize in the shortest format of the game, Maxwell is keen to keep the good form going to achieve their cause.
"For the last 18 months to two years, I feel like we've probably turned a corner and results have massively improved. I think that's reflected in the way we've actually started looking at T20 cricket. We've started looking at 'alright, let's start, instead of picking our one-day side and turning it straight into our T20 side, let's pick more specialists for this', which is I think giving guys specialist roles as well, not just roll out the same batting line up or whatever," he said.
"All of a sudden, you've just got extra time up your sleeve, [captain Aaron] Finchy can relax a little bit at the back end, know guys are in the right spot and not have to stress about anything. The more you play with these guys and the more you're moulding around each other, it can just become a little simpler for each other," Maxwell added.
Australia won the first of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka by a mammoth 134-run margin, courtesy of an unbeaten hundred from David Warner and fifties from Finch and Maxwell himself.
