Australia have announced their squad for the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, which will be held after the conclusion of the ongoing Test battle between the two nations at the latter's backyard. But Glenn Maxwell has lost his place in the squad.
From being one of the top 15 batsmen in the world to losing his place in the Australia limited-overs squad, Maxwell now has experienced it all.
Maxwell started off 2016 on a good note, but he took very little time to lose his form. He was absolutely terrific in ODI cricket in 2015, when he scored 644 runs at an average of 46.00 and strike rate of 135.86. But, unfortunately he could not keep that form going in this calendar year.
The selectors have been patient with Maxwell, but that patience has run out, and now they have decided that it is time for them to make the batting all-rounder understand the need to score runs consistently in order to get back to the limited-overs squad.
However, Maxwell was surprised that he was omitted from the Australia ODI squad. But, looking at the numbers, it shouldn't be surprising, as Maxwell has scored only 59 runs in his last eight ODIs for Australia.
"Obviously I'm disappointed to miss out on the squad but I've had some good chats to (selectors) Rod (Marsh) and Trevor (Hohns). I got some really honest feedback which was good to hear but there are also things I need to work on," Maxwell said.
"It is hard; I'm going to be watching on TV and seeing Australia play in coloured clothing and I'm not going to be there, but it's one of those things where it'll probably only drive me to train harder and make sure I'm there for the next tour."
Cricket Australia chairman Rod Marsh clearly mentioned that Maxwell has failed to establish himself as one of the consistent middle-order batsmen in recent times. While lauding Maxwell's fielding and bowling, Marsh insisted those alone are not enough for him to retain his place in the Australia squad.
"If you want to play cricket for Australia, you should be consistent. If you are batsman, you should get consistent runs. As far as I am concerned, he has had a lot of chances. It got to that stage – we couldn't go on any longer. Glenn has too many games where he doesn't contribute with the bat. He is a hell of a good fieldsman, as we know, he is handy bowler, and, at his best, he is one of our first picked in a one-day team," Marsh was quoted as saying by the official website of Cricket Australia.
"But if he is not making runs, then we have got to find a solution to it. The solution we have come up with is to put him back a step or two and see if he can get some runs there on a consistent basis. When you have got as much talent as that, you should be able to play all forms."
Along with Maxwell, Travis Head and Scott Boland have also been omitted. Moises Henriques and Shaun Marsh have made their way back into the ODI squad.
It will be interesting to see which opening combination skipper Steve Smith will opt for as he is flooded with options. Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, David Warner and Shaun Marsh are all suited for opening in limited-overs cricket.
Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Mitchell Starc will be the bowling options for Smith. Zampa, especially, has been outstanding in recent times and he is currently the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing CPL 2016 as well.
Australia ODI squad: Steven Smith (C), David Warner, George Bailey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa.
