Glenn Maxwell upset to come below Matthew Wade in the batting order

Entertaining Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has finally expressed his disappointment at the prospect of being forced to bat below wicketkeeper Matthew Wade. The left-hander who recently made a comeback in the Australian Test squad has been batting up the order for the majority of the Bushrangers Sheffield Shield season till date.

Though the batting order is Wade’s realm, Maxwell is surely a more organized and destructive batsman than Wade. While the southpaw has returned to Australia’s scheme of things, Maxwell’s fate remain undecided and uncertain especially in Tests despite having a particularly impressive record in the first-class arena.

He is keen on a making a comeback in the Australian Test team and the tour of India in February might be the best opportunity for Maxwell. But if he is recalled back to the ODI squad he won’t be able to feature in any of the first-class matches to be played until the selection of the Test team.

Maxwell was ousted from Victoria’s opening game in the Sheffield Shield and has batted below Matthew Wade in the remaining games since then. He made it pretty clear that he was not very impressed with Wade’s tactics on where a gloveman should bat.

“That’s probably a little bit painful at times. I think probably batting below the wicketkeeper is also a bit painful as well,” said Maxwell today.

“I think the wicketkeeper should be batting at seven unless you’re trying to squeeze an extra bowler into your line-up.

“I’ve been just trying to bat wherever I can and trying to make as many runs as I can.

“I got a hundred from No. 8 for Victoria so there is always opportunities to get runs wherever you are in the order.

“But the way the Vics have been going (leading the table), you’re generally coming in trying to set a total up or trying to win the game with not many runs to get.”

Asked who made the call in the batting order, Maxwell said it was Wade. “I think because he’s captain and he chooses the batting order. That’s my view on it,”

Maxie has a better record in first-class cricket than Wade and though the wicketkeeper-batsman has scored double the number of centuries than Maxwell, Wade has also played more than double the number of matches. Maxwell also boasts a better record than Nic Maddinson who was drafted to the Australian Test squad for the 3rd Test against South Africa at Adelaide.

His superhuman prowess in the shorter formats of the game has kept him away from playing the quality amount of first-class cricket but he is confident of making a comeback to the Australian Test squad for the Test series in India.

“I’m missing a pink ball Shield game in Hobart so it’s not the biggest miss in the world,” he said.

“If it was a Shield game here in spinning conditions it would have been more of a loss.

“With my ambitions to play a Test series and with Australia playing so well last Test there’s probably not going to be a whole heap of changes coming up. I’m looking more to the India series now having missed the boat for this Australian home summer. The way selections have gone I’m looking at the Indian Test series and focusing on that.

“I’m just going to be trying to make as many runs and take as many wickets and show the different improvements I’ve made in batting and bowling,” the all-rounder concluded.