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Comfortable Maxwell eyes Test recall

Now settled in Australia's one-day team, Maxwell turns his attention to winning back a spot in the Test team

Allrounder Glenn Maxwell says after three years in international cricket he finally feels comfortable in Australia’s limited-overs teams and is ready to return to the Test team for the tour of Bangladesh.

Maxwell was one of the stars in the 2015 Cricket World Cup held in the Antipodes in February and March, scoring a blazing maiden one-day international century against Sri Lanka before being named in the official team of the tournament as Australia went on to win their fifth crown.

Prior to the game’s quadrennial 50-over showpiece , Maxwell’s form was like a malfunctioning elevator, reaching dizzying heights at break-neck speeds while plummeting just as fast, making the richly-talented dual threat a polarising figure.

At his best, the audacious and at times agricultural allrounder was unstoppable, but when the fireworks failed to explode, Maxwell was deemed irresponsible and irrational, if at times unfairly.

The World Cup delivered what Maxwell and the Australian selectors, media and public had yearned for: consistency.

And it’s from that purple patch with both bat and ball that has made Maxwell a dependable, trustworthy member of Australia’s limited-overs middle order, a place where the 26-year-old feels safe enough to call home.

“I’m happy with my role in the Australian team at the moment,” Maxwell told cricket.com.au on a day off during his stint with English county side Yorkshire.

“It suits both the team and myself. I’ve got to keep trying to do as well as possible.

“It’s a nice feeling to feel comfortable in that team now.

“Twelve months ago I was still a bit iffy about where my position was in that team.

“To finally feel (secure) after that World Cup it’s a comfortable feeling for me. It’s a nice feeling.”

Now that Maxwell’s position in the coloured clothing outfit is locked down, his focus has been on returning to the creams of Australia’s Test team.

The last time Maxwell donned the Baggy Green was in Abu Dhabi last October on Australia’s ill-fated tour of the United Arab Emirates that ended in a 2-0 pounding as Pakistan rewrote the record books faster than Misbah-ul-Haq’s world record 56-ball century.

In the three matches of his juvenile Test career, Maxwell has been tossed around like leafy garden salad, opening the batting and bowling, slotting in at first, second and sixth-drop, and bowling to attack, defend and increase the over rate.

After a successful campaign with Yorkshire this summer against the same swinging Dukes ball the Test side has been unable to counter in the Ashes, Maxwell believes he’s ready to return to Test cricket and replace the ageing members of the middle order.

“I feel like my batting has improved enough now to be picked as an allrounder,” Maxwell said, who last week compiled 140 for Yorkshire in their Division One four-day clash against Durham.

“If you look at the way as I was picked in the Indian tour (in 2013), the first Test I was predominantly a bowling allrounder and that probably showed in my results.

“I was bowling really well but wasn’t making a whole lot of runs.

“I got to Dubai and didn’t bowl a lot and batted in the top order.

“Hopefully this time I can be picked as a genuine allrounder and bat at five or six and fill the gap that some of the experienced players will leave after they retire.

“It’s something I want to make my permanent position and hopefully hold it for a long time.

“I feel like my game is peaking at the right time.

“I feel like I’ve got a really good understanding about it at the moment, so it would be nice to be picked while I’m in form and hopefully carry that form through this one-day series into that Test series.”

Maxwell has one more match with Yorkshire, a 50-over match against Northamptonshire starting August 21 before linking up with the Australia limited-overs squad for the ODI against Ireland on August 27.