Glenn Maxwell still has his eyes firmly set on a possible return to Test cricket in Sri Lanka at the end of January as he recovers from the hamstring injury he suffered in the Twenty20 match against Pakistan in Hobart last Monday.
The damaging limited-overs cricketer last played Test cricket in 2017 when Australia toured Bangladesh, but selectors declared him in the frame for the two Test matches in Sri Lanka next year if he can prove himself durable enough to perform in the extended format.
Glenn Maxwell would love to bring his damaging game back into the test arenaCredit: Getty Images
The 36-year-old admitted he was deflated when he suffered the hamstring injury while fielding against Pakistan, particularly as he had planned to play two Sheffield Shield matches for Victoria before the Big Bash League kicks off in mid-December.
He said the grade two injury could sideline him for three to six weeks, declaring his hopes of playing in the Melbourne Stars’ opening match were “50-50” as he plans to use the time to set up his summer and next year.
“This is a really good opportunity for me to get a lot of strength work into not just my hamstring but other areas of my body and make sure I am in a really good space heading into the back end of the year,” Maxwell said.
“I am 50-50 for the first game and wary with the Champions Trophy just around the corner and hopefully, if things go right, Sri Lanka. There is so much obviously to come, I don’t really want to put that at risk by pushing for one game.”
Maxwell’s recovery is already in progress as he was allowed to play the par three course at Kingston Heath, where the Australian Open – featuring major champion Cam Smith and last week’s NSW Open winner Lucas Herbert – starts on Thursday.
“It’s all tracking pretty well. At this time of the year with the Big Bash coming back I need to get back to high intensity, high sprinting so [recovery] is probably going to take a little bit longer [than three weeks],” Maxwell said.
Maxwell made his Test debut in 2013 against India and has played all his seven Test matches on the subcontinent, where his part-time off-spin and ability to sweep the bowlers makes him a good fit. He has taken eight Test wickets and averaged 26.07 with the bat and scored a Test century in Ranchi. He is still one of the world’s best fielders.
He was unlucky not to play a Test when Australia toured Sri Lanka in 2022, then had his hopes of being on the tour to India in 2023 dashed when he broke his leg in a freak accident at a friend’s birthday party in November 2022.
However, he said the experience he had on the Sri Lankan tour in 2022 had whetted his appetite to wear the baggy green again.
“The week or so leading up [to the Sri Lankan Tests in 2022] is probably the most fun I have ever had in practice and training, going into different conditions, working out different strategies and trying to implement them against your own teammates,” Maxwell said.
“Getting some net bowlers in some of the hardest spin conditions you will ever face. It’s inconsistent, it rolls, bounces [and] spins miles. It’s just so much fun to get in there, challenge yourself and come up with a different way to be successful.”
He said he would take the same approach into Test matches he always had if he was lucky enough to get another opportunity, imagining he would have the chance to fine-tune his game for Sri Lanka at specially prepared wickets at the Junction Oval.
“[My] tactics will be exactly the same as I have played it in Tests in the past, backing my strengths and trying to have a really solid defence and back scoring options around that,” Maxwell said.
The Australians are scheduled to play the first of two Tests in Galle on January 29. Skipper Pat Cummings may be unavailable for the tour due to the expected arrival of his second child at that time while batting all-rounder Cameron Green will still be sidelined due to back issues.
The Champions Trophy, where Maxwell will be key to Australia’s chances, is scheduled to start in mid-February.
