"I haven’t given up" - Glenn Maxwell on playing Tests for Australia again
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has set his sights on a potential return to the national red-ball side following a highly rewarding white-ball stint in the subcontinent.
The last of Maxwell's seven Test appearances came in 2017 against Bangladesh away from home. All of his appearances so far have come away from home and in the subcontinent. He made his debut during the infamous 2013 Border-Gavaskar series, but could not make much of an impression like in white-ball cricket.
His most recent opportunity to make a return to the Test squad came during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India, but he was recovering from a serious leg fracture that he sustained right after the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Speaking about orchestrating a return to the Australian Test squad in the future, Maxwell, upon reaching Melbourne after a hectic couple of months in the subcontinent, said:
“I haven’t given up, I think I’ve just got to be realistic about the timings of the way I’ve been playing my white-ball cricket. You play a World Cup and then you don’t play any Shield cricket, you play at the back end of summer in white ball and don’t play any Shield cricket, so it’s just the way it’s gone over the last 10 years of my career really."
Maxwell has made 69 first-class appearances throughout his career, scoring 4147 runs at an average of 39.49.
"The two runs in the final were pretty cool. I don’t think anything’s going to top that" - Glenn Maxwell
The all-rounder had a stellar 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, where he recorded the fastest hundred in the competition's history as well as a historic double hundred against Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium. However, he was only required to provide the finishing touches in the final, as the duo of Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne made easy work of the target in the summit clash against India.
Maxwell spoke about the feeling of hitting the winning runs to hand Australia a record-extending sixth World Cup title. He said:
"The two runs in the final were pretty cool. I don’t think anything’s going to top that. Even though there were moments during the tournament individually, I think that final ... nothing’s going to top that.”
He had also hit the winning runs for Australia in the finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup against New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Australia are set to begin their home season soon with the likes of Pakistan and West Indies touring to play Tests as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.