Dean Jones advises Glenn Maxwell to hire a mentor

Former Australian batsman and a popular face in the commentary panel, Dean Jones has advised Glenn Maxwell to hire a mentor who can help him change his personality which has come under stern criticism over the last couple of days following his disrespectful comments against his teammate and Bushrangers captain Matthew Wade.

Jones believes that Maxwell is too good a cricketer to be bothered by this off-field issues and despite his indifferent form in the recent past, Maxwell will be a vital member of the Australian squad for their upcoming tour of India. He felt that Maxwell’s inclusion might well be the correct one as he has the upper-hand when it comes to one on one battle with India’s spin ace Ravichandran Ashwin.

“He’s got enough charisma in the way he plays. At the top of his game, he’s in our team, first pick, and I think he’s going to India,” Jones said. “He’s got a lot to offer. [R] Ashwin hates bowling to him, that’s a fact. But he needs to get some runs.”

The former batsman also expressed his displeasure at the Australian team management for dropping Maxwell for the first two ODIs against the Black Caps. He also questioned Australia’s thought process for deploying Mitchell Marsh as high as No.5 in the batting order ahead of Travis Head.

“I would’ve had him in,” he said, referring to Maxwell. “I can’t for the life of me work out how Mitchell Marsh is batting at No. 5, are you telling me Travis Head’s not as good a batsman as [Marsh]? What Travis Head did was terrific, but he still lacks a bit of polish.

Professor Deano who was himself a controversial character, especially during his initial playing days felt that it would help Maxwell if he sought help from someone like a Mike Hussey or a Mark Taylor.

“I think he really needs a mentor,” Jones said at the MCG. “I don’t want my sportsmen to come out of cookie moulds. I want them to have a personality and be able to say what they want, but I don’t think that was the right forum for him to do it. I don’t think you can be successful in international cricket without having someone you can speak honestly and candidly to. He’s a bit of a repeat offender and that’s hurting people,” Jones concluded.