Glenn the ‘Fill-in’: Why runs and wickets don’t matter as much for Maxwell’s Test hopes

by Admin
October 15, 2024

Glenn Maxwell’s comeback to red-ball cricket was short of runs, wickets and spectators – but it was also just what the doctor ordered in his quest to return to the baggy green.

Playing in his first longer-form game on these shores since the start of last year, Maxwell made just 14 off 19 balls, including hitting a six off his first delivery, to go with 1/27 from six overs in a nondescript performance that matched the occasion.

Glenn Maxwell made his return to red-ball cricket for Victoria’s second XI.Credit: Cricket Australia

Maxwell may be one of the most-recognised faces in the international game, but there would not have been many more than a dozen fans on hand to watch him ply his trade for Victoria’s second XI at the Junction Oval on Tuesday. Aptly, Maxwell’s name was entered as “Fill-in” in Cricket Australia’s online scoring portal.

Form has traditionally been the most important factor in playing for Australia, but in Maxwell’s case it’s only part of the equation.

Though Maxwell played the last of his seven Tests in 2017, he remains firmly in Australia’s plans for next year’s tour of Sri Lanka, where his dynamic batting and useful off-breaks are suited to the raging turners often rolled out on the island nation.

Glenn Maxwell was listed as “Fill-in” on Cricket Australia’s official scorecard.Credit: Cricket Australia

The Victorian dynamo has repeatedly proven his prowess in Asia but national selectors want to see that Maxwell, who suffered a serious broken leg in November 2022 at a friend’s 50th, can withstand the rigours of back-to-back days in the field – a hurdle he does not have to overcome in the limited-overs formats even if they are played at a much-higher intensity.

Maxwell, who turned 36 this week, has played just two red-ball matches since his freak injury – for Victoria at the start of 2023, and in July for Kent in England’s county competition. Though it is nearly two years since Maxwell suffered that injury, CA is still closely managing his workloads.

Maxwell is unlikely to play in Victoria’s Shield game, starting on Sunday at the MCG, according to two cricket sources with knowledge of his schedule, but is set to line up next week in the one-day competition as a tune-up for the white-ball series against Pakistan.