Time For Maxwell To Get Ashes Call

Adam Collins questions why the talismanic Glenn Maxwell has found himself on the Test match outer for so long

It is not easy being GlennMaxwell – especially in 2018. Granted, across his journey in the international game he hasn’t always helped his own case, in turn evolving into a Marmite figure, seemingly with his own Australian fans most of all.

But even by those challenging standards, Maxwell is gulping down the rough side of the pineapple on a regular basis of late at the very time he desperately wants to kick his career into overdrive across all three formats of the game as he nears his 30th birthday this December.

Take this week when the Victorian broke his silence about the spot-fixing allegations; those aired by Al Jazeera documentary in May where a bunch of wannabe crooks tried to ‘big-note’ themselves. You know the type. In Maxwell’s case, the proposition was that he was paid to go slow in the lead-up to an interval when batting in a Test in Ranchi last March.

The TV network, under legal advice, didn’t name him. But the pixilation of his face when batting did not extend to the bat he was carrying – the only player in that Test to use such a blade – meant that anonymity was compromised. Yet that barely scratches the surface as to why Maxwell is “hurt” and “shocked” by what went to air.

While the ICC continue to determine how they will formally investigate the far-fetched and discredited claims made in the broadcast, Maxwell is yet to formally get his opportunity to dispute, deny and destroy the claims. So on radio during the week, he decided to essentially name himself as the suspect (in the public domain at least) and go to town in a public riposte.