Glenn Maxwell will need to order a new baggy green if he gets selected to end his Test exile this week.
The Australian all-rounder has not featured in the game’s purest format for his country since the 2017 tour of Bangladesh.
He was handed the famous Aussie Test cap when he debuted in 2013, and wore it seven times before tucking it away in the back of his closet following the victory in Chattogram five years ago.
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But that decision to leave his baggy green out of harm’s way ironically proved its downfall.
Last week Maxwell was called into Australia’s Test squad in Sri Lanka, after incumbent No.5 batter and part-time spin bowler Travis Head injured his hamstring.
Maxwell, 33, asked his wife to dig the treasured garment out of his closet in Melbourne and fly it to the subcontinent with the hope he would need to use it for the first Test, beginning on Tuesday (AEST).
But she had some bad news.
“She got it out of the bag and it had completely fallen apart,” Maxwell said.
“So I’m going to need a new one over here.
“It’s happened to a few of the boys. Unfortunately when it goes in the bag and it’s wet, it doesn’t dry that well when you leave it in the bag … It’s absolutely destroyed.”
Maxwell said in the celebrations of his last Test victory, his cap got soaked and he forgot to get it cleaned and dried on returning Down Under.
He hopes he finds himself in need of a baggy green once more when the Australian team is finalised on Tuesday.
But that will depend on Head, and whether he can overcome the hamstring issue in time to line up at Galle International Stadium.
The Aussies have two Tests against Sri Lanka and will be hoping to make amends for losing the ODI series last week.
In his seven Test matches Maxwell average 26.07 with the bat and 46.62 with the ball, bowling off-spin.
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