Why does he need a chance in the Test side again? He turned 36 a little more than a week ago. He has made a name for himself in the white-ball cricket. Helped the team win three World Cups. Seen many highs in his career. Written a book to chronicle his journey. Is that not enough? Is it not time to start thinking of his farewell to this game? To the sane minds, it’s a yes for all the above questions. But Glenn Maxwell is anything but sane. He does not care if he has not played a Test match in almost seven years. Or that he represents a team that just recently rejected the offer of their 45-averaging ex-opener despite having no replacement for him. He knows one thing and that is he can not give up now. Talking to ESPN Cricinfo, Maxwell said it would be unfair to his younger self if he abandoned his dream now.
“I think if I gave up on that Test dream now, I don’t think I’d be doing justice to that younger Glenn Maxwell who was dying to put on the baggy green when he was a kid. And I think while there’s still a glimmer of hope, I’ll keep going for it.”
The Aussie all-rounder has played seven Test matches in his career in a very start-stop sort of way. Despite that, he could not create as much impact in whites as he did in the shorter formats. A reason for this, as stated by Maxwell himself, is that he entered the Test arena quite early in his career, so early that he ‘had no idea what he was doing’.
“I think the hard thing with Test cricket is, when I grew up, that’s all I wanted to do. I definitely got my chance at Test level a bit prematurely. It all happened really fast when I got my chance to debut. It was just a whirlwind. I had no idea what I was doing. I probably hadn’t had the experience at first-class level that I would have liked.” Maxwell said while talking about his short-lived Test career.
His appearances in Test cricket were haphazard. Playing his first three long-format games spaced a year apart, he got to play his next Test match after four years. He played four red-ball games in 2017 when he was called back into the side once again. This time, a more mature Maxwell returned and so was reflected in his figures. He scored a century in Ranchi on his comeback and averaged a decent 37 during that year.
“And then when I came back in 2017, I felt like I was a ready-made first-class cricketer and was really at peace with my game and where I was at. A lot of these things in Test cricket are timing. Adam Voges is probably the perfect example. He came in and he averaged 60-odd [61.87] in his Test career. He got his opportunity when he was at the top of this game. I suppose the thing I’m proud about in my Test career – I was able to sort of fight back at different times, get back in squads and be really resilient that way.”
There is a spot up for grabs in the Australian red-ball side with Cameron Green ruled out for the current season. Maxwell thinks he is in the best state as of now to get called back into the team. However, he now knows better than to let the pressure of performing take away the charm of fully living his dream from him.
“Whatever happens at the back end of this summer, whether I get picked or not, I won’t judge that as a tick or cross on my career. It’s just going to be another thing. As I said, I’d love to be over there, and if I do get the opportunity, I won’t be putting too much pressure on myself.”
