Feels like whole cricket fraternity are on my side: ‘Spin specialist’ Glenn Maxwell on return to Test cricket
Glenn Maxwell has been added to the Australia Test squad for Sri Lanka tour as the World Test Championship hopefuls look to get points from spinning conditions in Sri Lanka.
Australia are set to play Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series starting June 29. Pat Cummins’ team would be hopeful of coming out with points, after excellent performances in the previous series in the World Test Championship.
The team has performed well in the home conditions and in Pakistan, but they will be faced with a completely different challenge against spin in Australia. The white ball side has already been troubled by the same, and now it is on Pat Cummins to change the results.
Sri Lanka have been very strong in their home conditions, and because of that, Australia have been prompted to opt for Glenn Maxwell as a cover in the middle order. This is the first time that Maxwell has been picked up for a Test squad since 2017, and is heavily primed to play the first Test match. Speaking ahead of the match, Maxwell joked that he would need a new Test cap, because the last one has been torn to shreds.
“She (Vini Raman) got it out of the bag and it had completely fallen apart,” Maxwell said of the Baggy Green that had been doused in celebratory fluids and then left untouched in its neat accompanying carry bag for years,” Maxwell said.
“So I’m going to need a new one over here,” Maxwell added.
Maxwell stated that he was glad to have the backing of the cricketing fraternity ahead of this potential selection in the first XI.
“To have the whole cricket fraternity, it actually feels like they’re really on my side to play Test cricket, whereas you go back 4-5 years, it was probably the opposite,” said Maxwell.
“It’s been a nice shift in mood and change in the way people see me as a player, and that’s really heart-warming as well,” he added.
He spoke on length about not batting with pressure on his head, something that has helped to express himself on the field.
“I’m just putting less pressure on myself full-stop,” he said. “I think I’ve gone through those stages where I beat myself up for a shot that might be seen as indifferent or a dismissal that people don’t agree with.
“I think I’ve just got past that stage.”
“I know what I’m trying to do. I know what the team wants me to do. I know what the team expects me to do.
The prolific hitter delved a little into the new dressing room and said that over the last couple of years, the new leadership has changed what goes on behind the scenes.
“I’m so glad I get to stick around with them (my teammates) and help them win this Test series and to have that backing in the changeroom all-round is something that’s really been special.
“I think over the last couple of years, it’s been really obvious from inside the changeroom that support that we give each other. You won’t hear a bad word (said) about each other,” Maxwell concluded.
Australia Test squad vs Sri Lanka
Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
