The Third Test in the Ashes Series - WACA (14 December)

[LP]

Smith refuses to bowl Maxwell so he doesn't provide a relief bowler.

The selectors must have a grand plan that's too sophisticated for mere mortals to comprehend  :-\

Smith pretty much refuses to bowl himself, and his bowling was probably rated higher than Maxwell and Lyon as a teenager.

Personally, I don't see Maxwell as a Test bowler, he's useful in One Day or 20/20, maybe a spot for him on the continent, but he barely bowls more than 2 or 3 over spells in local Shield cricket let alone a test.

You'd have Maxwell in the team for two reasons, he is a batting X-Factor which can take the game away from the opposition in a session, a bit like Doug Walters used to be. He's also possibly the best fieldsman in the country and it likely to make that catch or create a run-out that others won't.

But there is this aspect, the argument for Mitch Marsh as a bowler is even weaker than the bowling argument for Maxwell!   Marsh had 153 overs to get some action happening when the Vics made 450 runs, and he barely raised a whimper.