India vs Australia | Glenn Maxwell is being wasted at number seven, says Allan Border

01/13/2019

Allan Border reckons that all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is being wasted at number seven in the Australian batting line-up at the moment. Shane Warne has also agreed with Border’s views and stated that the all-rounder should be bumped up higher in the batting line-up in the upcoming games.

A determined Australia beat India by 34 runs in the series opener at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday and took a well-deserved 1-0 lead in the three-match saga that will go on for another week. Despite the win against Virat Kohli & Co. certain Australian veterans were not exactly convinced by the batting line-up employed by Justin Langer’s side.

One of them was Australian batting legend Allan Border who was highly critical of Glenn Maxwell’s position in the batting line-up in Sydney. The explosive batsman came into the middle in the 48th over and could only play 5 balls in which he scored 11 runs.

“It feels to me that he’s slightly wasted in that position. Hopefully going forward he can be used as not a pinch-hitter but, depending on the circumstances of the game, you could throw him in at No.3 if you had a good start for example. That would let him play with a bit of freedom.

“I think he’s a good enough player to be playing Test cricket but I think the ball is in his court as far as putting numbers on the board to make him irresistible. So [he should] go away, dominate Shield level and the selectors will look at him for sure,” Border told FoxSports in an interview yesterday.

Border reckons that the Victorian will be offered more freedom if he was allowed to open further up the batting order for the home team. Another Australian legend, Shane Warne, also echoed Border’s sentiments as he added that Maxwell deserved a spot in the top-order of the Aussie batting line-up.

“I don’t know about this batting order. I’d really like to see Glenn Maxwell in. He’s still sitting in the shed,” Warne said.