As Glenn Maxwell looks to stake his claim for the Test team via this summer’s Matador One-Day Cup, his Victoria and Australia colleague Aaron Finch believes that the all-rounder has the potential to be the best player in the world.
Thanks to his international duties, Maxwell hasn’t turned out for the Bushrangers in a 50-over match since November 2012, but blazed a spectacular 98 from 63 balls on Sunday against a New South Wales Invitational XI to warm up for this year’s tournament in impressive fashion.
“He’s looking outstanding at the moment, his future is limitless. He has the potential to be the best player in the world if he wants to be,” Finch was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Tuesday.
“He’s really in control of his game. When people think of him, they probably think of a bit of a cowboy, who has got all the shots in the book, (but) he’s worked out how to adjust his game now and adjust through the gears of batting, especially in one-day cricket,” he added.
Maxwell has had limited opportunities in recent seasons to impress in the red-ball formats due to his automatic selection in Australia’s ODI and T20 teams, and has previously bemoaned that fact.
His solution this year was a county stint with Yorkshire, in which he scored one century in four matches and averaged 40.66 — a figure fractionally ahead of his first-class career mark of 40.42.
That decision, and some impressive performances with Australia’s one-day team, was rewarded with a recall to the Test squad for the Bangladesh tour, with the all-rounder’s off-spin also a contributing factor to his inclusion. Finch believes the 26-year-old’s time has come.
“He has turned the corner. His technique is tight now, he’s mentally switched on, he has great plans when he bats. I don’t see why he couldn’t have such a huge summer in all formats of the game,” he added.
