Maxwell gets the nod for SA trip
FORM: ONE OF THE TOP PERFORMERS IN THE BIG BASH
Glenn Maxwell was yesterday recalled to the Australia one-day and Twenty20 squads for the tour of South Africa, returning to the international setup for the first time since taking a break to deal with mental health issues in October.
The explosive all-rounder was not picked for the January series in India but returns for the three one-dayers and three Twenty20s in South Africa on the back of 389 runs at 43.22 in the domestic Big Bash series.
“It is fantastic to have Glenn back in both squads given his brilliant form in the middle order for the Stars along with his results with the ball,” national selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement.
Maxwell, 31, told reporters in Melbourne the break did him a world of good.
“I think I’ve come back a fresher player,” he said.
“I think I’ve been able to work out a few things off the field and get mentally right to perform and play well without any mental scars or anything like that going on behind.”
There was no place for the leading run-scorer in the Big Bash, however, with Marcus Stoinis’s 612 runs at 55.63 and Player-of-the-Tournament honours not enough to end his six-month exile from international cricket.
“Marcus Stoinis is a standby player for each squad and was unlucky to miss out due to the makeup of the current top order,” Hohns said.
“It is terrific to have a backup player of his calibre in such good form.”
All-rounder Mitchell Marsh was handed another chance to steady his stop-start limited-overs career after he impressed with the Perth Scorchers.
“I haven’t played a one-day game for two years and a T20 for a year so it’s certainly nice to be back playing for Australia in white ball cricket,” said Marsh. Batsman Marnus Labuschagne retains his place in the one-day squad after scoring 54 and 46 in his first two ODI innings on the tour of India.
Australia start the tour of South Africa on 21 February with the first Twenty20 in Johannesburg before the one-day series starts in Paarl on 29 February, and concludes with further matches in Bloemfontein and Potchefstroom in early March. –