Australia national team cricketer Glenn Maxwell has spoken about his return to Test cricket for the national team. He said that since suffering a leg injury he has been struggling with his fitness but is looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka early next year for the two-Test series.
Glenn Maxwell is arguably one of the most exciting cricketers to have played for the Australian national cricket team.
His ability to change the team’s game in a matter of a few balls has been the most prominent feature of his career. He has helped his team to many famous victories as he has been equally phenomenal with the bat and the ball.
While his ability in white-ball cricket is undoubted, Glenn Maxwell is yet to make a major impact in Test cricket.
He has played in just seven Tests in his career, and there have been several reports that he will be part of Australia’s Test series in Sri Lanka next year.
Glenn Maxwell, who last played a Test match in 2017, has had decent success in his short career so far in the longest format of the game. He has managed 339 runs in seven Tests at an average of 26.07 and also has a Test century, which he scored in India. His last appearance in the red-ball game was in July 2023 for Warwickshire.
Speaking about his return to Tests, Glenn Maxwell highlighted his leg injury and said that to be fit for the longest format of the game, he needs to put in a lot of effort. He expressed his desire to play the Tests in Sri Lanka and said that he is hopeful that his body will get fit for four-day cricket. As quoted by news.com.au, he explained:
“I’ve still got the leg. It’s the thing that’s hurt the most since I broke it, so it’s still a work in progress. It’s something I have to work hard on every day to make sure I’m in a position where I feel like I can get through a full day of cricket unscathed and hopefully pain-free.”
“It would be great if I could get my body in a position to play (in Sri Lanka), but as far as Shield cricket is concerned, I’m not sure how much they’ll take that into account and whether or not I need to prove that I can handle four days of cricket before I play Test cricket.
“Hopefully my body will be okay and I’ll be able to take part in the trials as well, but there’s still a lot of work to do and a lot of boxes to tick before then.”
“It’s completely different conditions,” Glenn Maxwell said of playing Test matches in Sri Lanka
Glenn Maxwell further spoke about playing Test cricket in Sri Lanka and said that national performance will not matter for the team on tour as the conditions there are different. Elaborating on the topic, he explained:
“They’ve been quite open to picking players who perform well in those conditions and, knowing what the situation is like in Sri Lanka, I don’t think Shield form is going to be a big factor in how anyone performs there.
“They’re completely different conditions, you have to have a really solid game plan against spin and a really good idea of how you’re going to deal with them in those conditions – it’s a different beast.”
It remains to be seen whether Glenn Maxwell will be back in Australia’s preparation ahead of the Tests against Sri Lanka. The Pat Cummins-led team will take on India in the five-match Test series.
