Allrounder confident he can push his way back into ODI XI with good form in the Big Bash
Maxwell in "good place" ahead of BBL
Glenn Maxwell says he's in a "good place" heading into the KFC Big Bash League and has dismissed a suggestion that the recent series against New Zealand, where he was fined by his Australian teammates and didn't play any of the three matches, was a "rough spot" in his season.
Maxwell was fined an undisclosed amount by his teammates ahead of the Chappell-Hadlee series opener two weeks ago after comments he made regarding his position in Victoria's batting order behind Bushrangers skipper Matthew Wade.
The 28-year-old then spent all three matches of the series on the sidelines, bringing to 13 the number of consecutive one-day internationals Australia's reigning ODI Player of the Year has missed since he was dropped for the tour of Sri Lanka last August.
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Maxwell returned to the national side for the T20 series that followed the one-dayers in Sri Lanka, blasting an unbeaten 145 and 66 in two matches to underline his status as one of the best and most dangerous T20 batsmen in the world.
The allrounder will turn out for his Melbourne club side Fitzroy-Doncaster this weekend as part of his preparations for the Melbourne Stars' BBL season opener on Boxing Day and says he's looking forward to returning to the shortest form of the game.
When it was suggested that the series against New Zealand was a "rough spot", Maxwell replied: "I wouldn't say it's a rough spot. I got back into the one-day squad so it can't be that rough.
"I'm in a good place with my game at the moment,"Maxwell told cricket.com.au.
"So there's no rough patch, there's no doubts about my game. That's all hearsay and media talk. That's not any sort of facts.
"That's just (people saying) 'he looks like he's struggling so his cricket must be terrible'. That's a load of junk."
With Maxwell out of the ODI side for the majority of this year, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have been solid performers in Australia's middle order, with international rookie Head being particularly impressive against the Black Caps.
The 22-year-old posted 146 runs from three innings and picked up two wickets with his off-spin, while allrounder Marsh has averaged 42 in ODI cricket this year.
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Maxwell, who has scored 59 runs in seven ODI innings since the end of last summer, says his performances this year haven't warranted a place in the side.
But he remains hopeful that a strong start to the BBL with the Stars will lead to selection in the ODI squad to take on Pakistan next month.
"It's not my position," he said. "There was no ownership of that position.
"If you're continually performing, that can be your position. But I didn't continually perform so it became someone else's position.
"I'm just looking forward to playing good cricket (in the BBL).
"It's been a little while since I've played T20 cricket having had those two games in Sri Lanka and the IPL before that. So it's been few and far between.
"I'm just looking forward to getting through these practice games (with the Stars), working out again what works for me in Twenty20 cricket and letting that run into the BBL.
"Hopefully I can have some success in the games and then hopefully into the one-day series after that. I'm just looking forward to hitting the ball well and contributing to some wins."
Stars coach and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has indicated Maxwell will bat somewhere in the top three this summer as the franchise chases its maiden title.
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And he's confident the allrounder will fire ahead of a return to the ODI set-up midway through the tournament.
"He seems pretty good - you can often never tell with Maxi," Fleming said.
"He enjoyed the run the other day, playing the two (practice) games, (and) we've got another couple of games for him to get back into some sort of form in the middle.
"I have no doubt he will be ready for the first game.
"He's pretty natural ... it doesn't matter how much he plays.
"Hopefully he can win one or two for us before he gets picked (for Australia). It would be unfortunate for him (if he is not picked), but it would be a win for us.
"You want that type of player in your side every time.
"Guys who can win matches are very rare and we're fortunate enough with him, (Kevin) Pietersen and Luke Wright in the batting order, we have three who can do it on their own."