Maxwell on edge over Ashes chance
TIME proved to be the enemy of Ashes hopefuls Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell as Tasmania set the foundations for a towering Sheffield Shield win over Victoria.
Former Test batsman Alex Doolan scored an unbeaten double-century as the Tigers imposed their dominance on day three at the MCG.
The visitors declared their second innings at 2-424 shortly after tea yesterday and had Victoria struggling at 2-67 in reply, requiring 386 for victory.
Bad light stopped play in the final over before stumps.
Maxwell was unbeaten on 20 and in a solid position, having spent more than an hour at the crease. The question is whether it will be too late to make any difference to his chances of batting at No.6 in the Ashes, particularly with rain forecast today in Melbourne.
“I have no idea what direction they’re (selectors) going to go in,” Maxwell said.
“We’ve obviously seen Cameron Bancroft perform ex- tremely well over in the west and a few guys put their hands up …. I think that’s what (selectors) asked for but who knows what they’re going to do?”
Maxwell has the advantage of incumbency, the backing of several former greats and a recent Test century to his name.
But if he wasn’t already nervous about his prospects, Ban- croft’s 228 not out for Western Australia would likely have done the trick.
It is increasingly difficult to see how selectors can overlook the highly rated Bancroft after his barnstorming Shield campaign.
The No.6 spot is where Bancroft, who usually opens the batting for WA, would most likely slot in.