Trying to be genuine all-rounder for Australia, says recharged Glenn Maxwell after 10-month break

The swashbuckling all-rounder last played for Australia in October 2019 and then took a break from the game to look after his mental health. Australia are touring England for three T20I`s followed by three ODI`s, starting September 4.

Derbyshire: Australia`s Glenn Maxwell has said that he is trying to be a genuine all-rounder for the side and in trying to achieve this, he has worked a lot on his bowling over the past few weeks.

His remark comes as Australia gets ready to lock horns in three T20Is and three ODIs against England, beginning September 4.The T20Is will be played at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton while the ODIs will take place at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. All these matches will be played behind closed doors.

"I`ve done a lot of work on my bowling in that time away, trying to be that genuine allrounder where I can bowl upwards of six, seven, eight overs a game to really take the load off the quicks and the front-line spinner if we do play one," ESPNCricinfo quoted Maxwell as saying.

"To go back to that 2015 year when I was the sole spinner and I was relied heavily upon, to be able to get back that string to my bow where I`m bowling a lot of consistent overs and helping the team out wherever I can," he added.

Maxwell`s last ODI came during the 2019 World Cup as he was a part of Australia`s playing XI in the semi-final defeat against England. His most recent international outing was the second T20I against Sri Lanka in 2019 after which he decided to take a break from the game to look after his mental health.

"I certainly haven`t played a lot of one-day cricket recently. I`m just looking forward to getting back out there in the colours and performing as well as I can in whatever role I`m given. I`m confident in the skills work that I`ve done in the off-season and I`m ready to go," Maxwell said.

"I`ve been really working with Aaron Finch and the coaching staff with my role in the side and committing to that 100 per cent every time," he said. "It`s going to be more of a finishing role this time," he added.

Australia has named a 21-man squad for the upcoming limited-over series against England.

Australia`s squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (VC), Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

The first T20I between England and Australia will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on September 4.