The upcoming Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series might make or break the career of Australia’s middle-order batsman Glenn Maxwell. The right-handed batsman has fallen out of favour with Australian selectors and only an outstanding display might guarantee him a place in the team in future.
When Glenn Maxwell burst onto the international scene, very few people backed him to succeed at the international stage. The right-handed batsman’s game was all about big-hitting and unconventional strokes. But soon, he turned into one of the batting mainstays for the Australian team in the limited-overs format. His wide array of shots and coupled with the consistency made him one of the most feared batsmen in the world.
His breakthrough year came in 2015 when he scored 644 runs at an impressive average of 46.00 and at a strike rate of 135.86. The explosive batsman scored his maiden ODI century in that year apart from playing four knocks of above 50 in 15 innings. He starred for the Aussies in their triumphant World Cup campaign as he scored 324 runs at 64.80 with an astonishing strike rate of 182.02.
He started 2016 in the same manner as he scored 169 at an average of 56.33 with a strike rate of 126.11 during Australia’s 4-1 ODI series win over India. His fine and consistent performance with the willow saw him becoming Australia’s ODI player of the year. However, he soon started to struggle with the bat. After starring in the ODI series against India, the right-handed batsman cut a sorry figure in the T20 series against MS Dhoni’s men. He could score only four runs in two matches as his team was whitewashed 3-0. In the following series against New Zealand, he could score only six runs in three innings.
All the six runs came in the second ODI as he was out for ducks in the other two innings. The failures in the previous series looked a mere fluke after he impressed with the bat again during the three-match T20I series against South Africa. He scored 111 runs in three innings at an average of 55.00 with a strike rate of 173.43.
But his downfall started soon and that slump in form has been really long. In fact, his form has been so poor that after becoming his country’s top ODI player, he has found himself outside its top 15 in half a year.
He had a poor outing in the T20 World Cup and the IPL and the selectors finally lost their cool when he failed to perform well in the tri-series in West Indies. After scoring 0 and 3 in the first matches, he was dropped from the playing eleven in the next match. He was recalled after a match and he responded in style by playing a match-winning knock of 46 runs to help his team book a place in the final of the series. But his innings of four runs in the final proved too costly for him as the selectors did not include him in the ODI series in Sri Lanka. It was the first time since his debut that he was not included in an Australian ODI squad.
A blistering century off only 49 balls followed by a knock of 66 runs from 29 balls served a timely reminder to the selectors. However, he was not given the chance to further prove himself as he was not in the squad for the ODI series in South Africa. But the selectors have once again shown their faith in himself and have selected him for the series against New Zealand.
It is quite safe to say that any more slip up can make the matters worse for him and so he will have to grab the chance with both the hands to cement his spot in the team.