Maxwell axed in one-day team shake-up

Glenn Maxwell has sensationally been axed from Australia’s one-day squad for the upcoming series with England.

Maxwell’s omission was one of several shocks in the 14-man squad announced yesterday, with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade also overlooked in favour of Tim Paine.

Big Bash sensation Chris Lynn has also been included, despite being just three matches into his return from a serious shoulder injury.

Maxwell has been a mainstay of the Australian team but endured a troubled tour of India this year.

“No one is in any doubt about Glenn’s ability or his potential to produce match-winning contributions with the bat,” national selector Trevor Hohns said.

“What we have wanted from him is more consistency but in his past 20 matches in this format he has averaged 22 and we need more than that from a player in the side’s batting engine room.”

Captain Steve Smith said Maxwell could consider himself “unlucky” but urged the 29-year-old to take the axing as a wake-up call and change his training habits to get his way back into the national team.

“I think he could train a little bit smarter,” Smith said.

“We’ve all seen the way he can come out and play and do all his funky stuff and be pretty cool with that.

“But when he puts his head down he’s actually a really good batsman as we’ve seen in Shield cricket. He’s got some big runs there.”

Australia will play England in five one-day fixtures, starting January 14.