George Bailey, the chief selector of the Australian men’s cricket team, emphatically stated that they regard Glenn Maxwell as one of their primary spin options for the upcoming 2023 World Cup. Bailey highlighted Maxwell’s impressive bowling record in white-ball cricket. He expressed confidence in his ability to deliver in the upcoming tournament.
In a recent press conference, Bailey stated that despite Maxwell’s struggles with the bat in the third ODI against India in Rajkot, his bowling skills played a pivotal role in Australia’s 66-run victory. Maxwell picked four crucial wickets, including those of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He secured his career best figures of 4 for 40 in 10 overs.
Bailey spoke highly of both Adam Zampa and Maxwell, affirming their roles as frontline spinners for the team. He said that Maxwell’s white-ball spinning record is noteworthy, dispelling any notion that he is not a specialist spinner.
“In my opinion, accusing Maxwell of not being a specialist spinner should be avoided. He has a solid white-ball spinning track record, so you might definitely consider him a frontline option. We definitely think that our first-choice XI contains two frontline spinners,” he said.
Addressing the challenges of squad selection, Bailey acknowledged the need for compromises when limited to 15 players.
“When limited to 15 players, you must consider making sacrifices. You must decide which direction you want to take a risk. We only had to take that factor into account. We have ample choices for quicks and backup all-rounders, and we definitely believe that Zamps and Maxi can do a great job for us as the main spinners,” Bailey added.
In a late squad change on September 28, Australia replaced Ashton Agar with Marnus Labuschagne due to Agar’s calf strain as they gear up for their World Cup campaign in India.