AUS vs ENG 2017/18: Steven Smith Sends Out a Strong Message for Dropped Maxwell

Australia captain Steven Smith has admitted that axed cricketer Glenn Maxwell needs to stick to the basics if he wants to get back to the Australia squad.

Notably, Maxwell got dropped from the 14-man ODI squad for the Gillette ODI series against England following the Ashes.

Australia selectors cited all-rounder’s poor run in the fifty-over format as the main reason behind Maxwell’s exclusion.

“It’s obviously unlucky on Glenn, but if we look back at his last 20 one-dayers, I think he’s averaged around 20. He’s come back and played some pretty good Shield cricket, but we just want to keep seeing consistent performances from him and just keep putting his name up there. That’s the most important thing for him,” Smith told the reporters at Sydney.

While Maxwell has been short of runs in ODI cricket, the 29-year-old has never been in better knick in the first-class cricket.

Maxwell is currently the leading run scorer in JLT Sheffield Shield with 590 runs at an average of 74, including a gigantic 278 against New South Wales Blues at North Sydney Oval. Maxwell played textbook shots on his way to making all this runs leaving aside his different and adventurous stroke-making shots.

Smith wants this dynamic all-rounder to practice this shots more often during training sessions, the area where Maxwell can make significant steps in finding the consistency.

“Just looking at the way he trains, I think he could train a little bit smarter. We’ve all seen the way he can come out and play and do all his funky stuff and be pretty cool with that, but when he puts his head down he’s actually a really good batsman, as we’ve seen in Shield cricket – he’s got some big runs there,” Smith stated.

Maxwell has lost his place to hard-hitting Chris Lynn, who has played only three matches since his comeback from shoulder surgery. The 27-year-old Lynn hammered 63 from 46 balls last night for Brisbane at the MCG, including seven fours and three sixes in the Heat’s nine-wicket win over Maxwell’s Melbourne Stars.

While national selector Trevor Hohns revealed the ODI squad named on Wednesday was picked with an eye on the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales, he further admitted Maxwell is not out of contentions.

“No-one is in any doubt about Glenn’s ability or his potential to produce match-winning contributions with the bat. What we have wanted from him is more consistency but in his past 20 matches in this format, he has averaged 22, and we need more than that from a player in the side’s batting engine room,” Hohns said.

However, the selectors wanted to look at Chris Lynn whether he can convert his domestic form into the international scene.

“He has been one of the most feared players at domestic level in limited-overs cricket in the past couple of years, and we want to see if he can convert that domestic form to the international stage,” Hohns signed off.

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