NEWS
Follow UsVictoria captain Will Sutherland said Glenn Maxwell will feature in some Sheffield Shield games this year to push his case for Australia's Test tour of Sri Lanka in the first half of 2025. Australia are scheduled to travel to the island nation in January and February of next year.
Maxwell has played only two first-class games in the last five years due to his white-ball commitments and a leg injury. The spin-bowling all-rounder last played Sheffield Shield cricket in February 2023, while his last red-ball game was for Warwickshire in the county championship last year. He scored 81 off 67 and also picked up one wicket in 24 overs.
Maxwell has played seven Tests for Australia and all of those have come in the subcontinent. The 35-year-old, who last played a Test in September 2017, has scored 339 runs across 14 innings at an average of 26.08. The offspinner also has eight wickets to his name. Australia’s next Test assignment is a blockbuster Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home but there’s no chance of Maxwell making a cut for the five-match series.
He is currently in England for the five-match ODI series, which will end on September 29. The first round of Sheffield Shield 2024-25 will start on October 8, with Victoria taking on Tasmania at the Junction Oval in Melbourne. However, the third and fourth rounds of the red-ball competition will collide with Australia's home ODI and T20I series against Pakistan.
"I think he'll be available for a couple and I believe he's keen to play as well. Obviously, things can change with him playing at the moment, but to have a player like Glenn potentially come into our side is a bit of a luxury, so hopefully that can work out nicely,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Sutherland as saying.
Victoria will likely be without Scott Boland in their first fixture. The right-arm seamer is currently recovering from his knee injury but is likely to be available for the side's game against New South Wales at the MCG, where the likes of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Steven Smith could be part of the oppositions’ XI.
"I believe it's the second (game). You have to double check with him, but I faced him in the nets a few days ago, and he's still nipping the ball back into me, blowing my quad off every second ball. He's still got his tools, and he's just building up nicely. I'm sure he'll be ready to go for the Shield season."
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