Glenn Maxwell believes selectors don't want to see him hit sixes

Maxwell is playing for Australia A against South Africa A

The Australian ODI player of the year Glenn Maxwell was dropped from the Australian ODI for the Sri Lankan tour. Maxwell was called to play for the Australia A team in a first-class match against South Africa A in Townsville where the Victorian player expressed his willingness to prove his mettle in the first-class circuit.

The Australian batsman, who is a part of Australia A’s four-day and 50–over squads, was a contributing member of his side’s 197-run win over the tourists in the series opener in Brisbane earlier this week. Maxwell was dismissed in the first innings for a 10 ball duck. He was elevated to No. 3 in the second dig and scored 38 off 22 balls.

The 27-year-old can see an opportunity to add to his three Test caps when Australia will be on their tour to India for a four-Test series earlier next year. Maxwell played six matches for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield where he was dismissed for 98 against Western Australia at the MCG in November.

Among the three sixes the Aussie batsman hit, in one of them, the ball was smashed on the roof of Queensland Cricket’s headquarters in the first match against South Africa A. Maxwell said, "I'll probably be keeping it on the ground."

He added, "I don't think the selectors want to see me hit sixes – they know I can do that – so it's about accumulating totals and not just doing the flashy stuff."

As quoted in the cricket.com.au, the ODI player of the year said that he was eagerly willing to get the bat on ball as he had not faced a lot of bowlers in the pre-season. Maxwell added that the captain of Australia A team Pete Handscomb wanted him to accelerate in the second innings.

The Victorian said, "Hopefully this match gives me a chance to bat for a longer period of time because I want to show what I did over the last couple of Shield seasons and make big runs to put the team in a good position."

Maxwell shared views about the Sri Lankan tour and said, "It would have been nice to be in Sri Lanka with the spinning conditions and get more of a chance with the ball, but I had to make more runs. I take full responsibility for that, so I've got to make sure I'm moving on and playing better when I have the opportunity."

After the ODI player of the year was omitted from the Australia's 15-man Test squad for the Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews praised Maxwell’s playing style. Mathews said, "He plays spin better than most of the Australian batters. He's one player who scores both sides of the wicket.”

"We are quite happy to see him not in the squad", he added.