Batting legend Ricky Ponting has made a bold remark on Glenn Maxwell, saying that the star all-rounder "doesn't deserve" to play in Test cricket for the Australian cricket team.
Maxwell played a key role in Australia's 2023 World Cup victory and has been a standout performer for the team in limited-overs cricket. Despite this, he was overlooked for the ongoing three-match Test series between Australia and Pakistan at home.
Maxwell's last appearance for Australia in Test cricket was in 2017, and Ponting said that the former must score a truckload of runs in first-class cricket to earn a spot in the Test team.
Ricky Ponting said on Channel 7: “No one deserves a chance unless you’ve got a truckload of first-class runs behind you. I’m a no; he doesn’t deserve it. But, if he gets a chance to go back and make some first-class runs, then he can force his way back in.”
Recently, Maxwell said that he would be aiming to make it to the Australia Test team when they go on a tour to Sri Lanka in 2025, while admitting that it is tough to break into the side for the home Tests.
Maxwell had said to SEN: “I’m quite understanding the circumstances of the current side. They’re playing some really good cricket, they’re World Test champions. There’s not a lot of spots up for grabs as far as Tests at home, but I know that when it does come to a sub-continent tour I can be a real viable option to hopefully fill a role in that side.”
He concluded, “It would have been nice to play one at home, it’s where I played all my first-class cricket and it felt like I toiled away for a few years there. It’s something that I wish I would have been able to do. But circumstances and timing I probably was more preferred in the white-ball area.”
(With SEN/Channel 7 Inputs)
