Glenn Maxwell set to add depth to Aussie squad, in the mix to play first Test since 2017
Glenn Maxwell is in line to play his first Test for Australia since 2017 after being added to the squad this week for their upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka.
He has sensationally parachuted into the Australian red-ball brigade as cover for an injury-depleted squad, which now has incumbent No. 5 Travis Head sidelined with a hamstring strain.
Maxwell's late call-up suggests he'll be slotted straight into the playing XI, given Mitch Marsh and Josh Inglis, existing members of the Test squad, could also take up a middle-to-late order batting position.
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Glenn Maxwell makes his return to Australia’s Test squad after five long years.
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He has also leapfrogged other batters currently on red-ball duty for the Australia A squad, including Marcus Harris, Matt Renshaw and Nic Maddinson.
Before the tour, national selector George Bailey kept the Test door ajar for Maxwell, saying he "has had some red-ball success in these types of conditions", but he also claimed it would require a good block of cricket through the T20s and one-dayers.
The Australian selectors have definitely shown a great deal of faith in Maxwell's ability, given he has not played a first-class game in two years and eight months, or a Test match in nearly five years.
However, he has been plying his trade through a significantly heavy white-ball load, no more recently than a stunning match-winning 80* against Sri Lanka in the first ODI last week. He backed that up with knocks of 30 and 33.
Glenn Maxwell to cover a lot of selection bases
Maxwell could prove to be invaluable in the way he offers the Australian squad a large suite of options in regards to their playing lineup.
Maxwell has proven exposure to playing in the subcontinent, with all of his seven Test appearances occurring in Asia. He could realistically bat anywhere from No. 5 to No. 8, providing the Aussies with a stable hand in the middle-to-late order on foreign pitches that are expected to be spinning minefields.
On the bowling front, Maxwell will likely provide the tourists with a third bowling option and, critically, not use up a spot in the team purely as a bowler.
Meanwhile, it is unclear who Nathan Lyon's spinning partner will be, with Ashton Agar (currently under an injury cloud) and Mitch Swepson being the other spinners included in the Test squad. Leg-spinner Swepson, the incumbent second-spinner, has not been assured of his spot just yet, despite playing in Pakistan earlier this year.
Fellow spinners Matt Kuhnemann, Jon Holland and Todd Murphy are all also on tour with Australia A (Kuhnemann was also added to the ODI squad), but have not been elevated to the Test squad. However, they remain a live chance should the Australians opt for a finger spinner ahead of Swepson.
Effectively, if the Aussies want three spinners in their side, then Maxwell appears to be the frontrunner as the third spinner.
Critically, it would also open the door to adding more surety around having two frontline pacers play among the first-class choices of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. The Australians were even reported to be contemplating playing just the one pacer (alongside Cameron Green), but Maxwell's inclusion in the side would likely avoid that somewhat unwanted scenario.
Throughout his career, Maxwell has played two Tests on Australia's tour to India in 2013 (four-Test series), before one Test in the UAE (two-test series vs Pakistan), two more in India in 2017 (four-match series) and two Tests in a two-match series in Bangladesh in 2017.
His most memorable moment in Test cricket came on Australia's tour of India in 2017, in which he scored his maiden Test century, still to this day widely regarded as one of Australia's best innings in Asia in the modern era.
He, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja are the only Australians to have scored Test centuries in Asia since the beginning of 2017.
#INDvAUS , 3rd TEST DAY 2: AUS - 329/4 (100.3) | Steve Smith - 124(272) , Glenn Maxwell - 104*(183) https://t.co/aTCRmqzBV4
Despite harboring a long-term association with Australia's subcontinental Test match contingencies, he was then not part of Australia's playing XI in the ensuing Test matches in Asia - in the UAE against Pakistan in 2018 and again against Pakistan in Pakistan earlier this year.
Earlier in the ongoing Sri Lanka tour, Maxwell said he understood why he had missed out on the Test squad, all the while readying himself for a surprise call-up.
"A guy that hasn't played any first-class cricket would be a random pick," he told cricket.com.au.
"I know it's specific to my skillset and the way I play slow bowling, especially in these conditions, that might have been something to sway them. But I think the way they've shown faith in their current squad is brilliant. It's nice that the door's not closed but I also thought it was nice that they showed faith in that squad."
The Australians will face Sri Lanka in a two-Test series starting next Wednesday, with both matches to be played at Galle.
Australian Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
Fixture:
First Test: 29 June - 3 July, Galle
Second Test: 8 July - 12 July: Galle