Maxwell was never in contention for Adelaide Test, says Lehmann

Glenn Maxwell’s “me me me” attitude has drawn the ire of his Victoria peers © Getty Images

Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has said Glenn Maxwell was never in contention for the Adelaide Test against South Africa because he had not made enough big scores in recent seasons. On Thursday, Maxwell expressed his disappointment that he had been overlooked for the Adelaide Test, and also that he had been stuck batting behind wicketkeeper and captain Matthew Wade in Victoria’s Sheffield Shield side this year.

His comments have drawn the ire of Victoria team-mate Rob Quiney, who said Maxwell had displayed “not the greatest attitude” and needed to “lip it and just make some runs”. And Lehmann, who has the task of coaching Maxwell and Wade during the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, said Maxwell needed more runs in order to push for Test selection.

“No. Because he hasn’t made 100 for the last two years. You need to make 100,” Lehmann said in Sydney on Friday when asked if Maxwell had been close to a call-up in Adelaide. “Are you going to pick a bloke that hasn’t made 100 for two years?”

It is true that Maxwell has not made a Sheffield Shield century since February 2014, when he struck two in succession, although his limited-overs commitments for Australia mean he has played in only nine completed Shield games since then. He also posted a first-class 140 for Yorkshire in the County Championship in August last year.

Lehmann said that while it was disappointing that Maxwell had chosen a public forum for his comments on batting below Wade, he was confident the Australian camp could put the problem behind them.

“We’re obviously disappointed but we’ll work through those issues,” Lehmann said. “We’re confident they can work together.”

Meanwhile Quiney, who has not played a Sheffield Shield match this summer, pulled no punches when asked about Maxwell’s comments on Wade and the batting order.

“I think he needs to lip it and just make some runs,” Quiney said on EON Sports radio on Friday. “Victoria are flying at the moment, but he’s not setting the world on fire himself. He’s actually only batted at six twice so I don’t know where this has come from. It’s good that he’s honest, unfortunately it’s probably not the greatest attitude to have, I reckon.”

Former Victoria captain Darren Berry also slammed Maxwell’s decision to make such comments in public, telling SEN radio: “That’s ‘me, me, me’ stuff isn’t it? It’s a team sport and he’s batting at six. Cameron White’s batting behind him at seven. Cameron White didn’t come out and criticise Matthew Wade […] you just don’t do it.”

It has been a fraught year for Maxwell, who has not been part of Australia’s ODI XI since June in the West Indies, despite being named the team’s ODI Cricketer of the Year in January. He also asked for a transfer to New South Wales during the off-season but was blocked by Victoria, who then left him out of their XI for the first Shield match of the summer.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.


Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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