Maxwell realistic after Test omission

In conceding that his inclusion in Australia’s T20 squad on Monday was "probably not the recall I was looking for", Glenn Maxwell acknowledges that he needs to produce results over a longer term to win back his Test place.

Despite being the leading run scorer in the opening half of this summer's JLT Sheffield Shield competition, Maxwell was overlooked for Test duties as Australia swept to a 4-0 triumph in the Magellan Ashes.

At Test series end, he then learned of his axing from Australia's ODI outfit that came with a public rebuke from skipper Steve Smith, who advised the allrounder to "train a little bit smarter" and to focus more closely on fundamentals than flair.

Then, Maxwell’s hopes of earning a call-up for the upcoming Qantas Tour of South Africa were dashed when his name was missing from the 15-man squad that contains just one auxiliary batter (Peter Handscomb) and a surfeit of bowling options.

But the 29-year-old claims he does not feel hard done by and has not sought an explanation from the national selection panel, noting that players who have earned Test places recently have put consistent performances on the board stretching across 10 matches or more.

And that if he hopes to win back the Test role he lost after Australia’s drawn series in Bangladesh last September, he must continue the prolific results that he displayed in the first phase of the Shield season into the second instalment that begins in a fortnight.

"No, not really," Maxwell told SEN radio's 'Time On' program when asked if he had been left perplexed by his continued exclusion from all but the shortest format of the game.

"I think it (Test selection) has got to be over a longer period of time.

"You've only got to look at the guys they’ve been picking, and they’ve been picking on form over a long period of time.

"So I don't think half the summer's going to do the job.

"I've got to make sure I finish off this summer the way that I’ve started and it’s going to come through some good Shield performances and hopefully a lot more consistency with both bat and ball."

Maxwell also believes that the surprise selection of left-arm spinner and Victoria teammate Jon Holland will provide a potential boost for his opportunities with the prospect of taking a more pronounced bowling role when the Shield competition resumes.

It's Maxwell's occasional off-spinners that might well hold the key to a call-up for Australia’s future Test fixtures, with a series against Pakistan in traditionally spin-friendly conditions in the United Arab Emirates later this year the next scheduled engagement following the South Africa tour.

Given that Australia is likely to consider playing at least two spinners in those Tests, Maxwell could find himself in direct competition with fellow finger-spinning allrounder Ashton Agar for a berth on that trip.

In the meantime, as he prepares for the upcoming Gillette T20 Tri-Series against England and New Zealand, Maxwell has been pondering the failure of his KFC Big Bash League franchise the Melbourne Stars in BBL|07.

Having reached the play-off rounds in each of the six previous iterations of the T20 tournament, the Stars are languishing at the foot of the ladder with a solitary win from nine starts and Maxwell has attributed their decline to an outdated approach to the 20-over format.

Maxwell believes the Stars' philosophy in targeting high-profile batting talent like of ex-England pair Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright (who have both announced their departure from the BBL at season’s end) is no longer the way to win T20 titles.

He cited the strategy of current competition leaders the Adelaide Strikers, who employ a specialist attack of five bowlers and rely on their top few batters to compile a defendable total, as the most effective method.

"We may be playing a brand of T20 cricket that’s probably a bit in the past," Maxwell said of the Stars’ season. "Unfortunately, it’s probably taken us until this year to work that out.

"I think it’s understanding that it’s not always batters who are going to win you T20 games.

"The modern-day way is that you stack your team with bowlers and hopefully scratch over the line (with sufficient runs).

"If you look at the Strikers team, with Rashid (Khan), Ben Laughlin, Billy Stanlake, Michael Neser, and Peter Siddle playing his role – they have guys who are T20 specialists who can genuinely hold down a batter.

"As a batsman looking to target the opposition, you narrow it down to who you can confidently take on and they just do it really well.

"They’ve got a balanced bowling line-up.

"Obviously they are going to lose some guys towards the back end of the tournament (due to national selection) but T20 teams should be built around your bowlers."

Qantas tour of South Africa

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match v SA Invitational XI, Sahara Park, Benoni, Feb 22-24

First Test Kingsmead, Durban, March 1-5

Second Test St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, March 9-13

Third Test Newlands, Cape Town, March 22-26

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3