With the first Test fast approaching, all the spots are up for grabs and being contested for during Round 2 of the JLT Sheffield Shield.

Maxwell was batting at number 3 for Victoria and was looking to score big against South Australia to showcase his abilities.

While he scored a collective 124 runs across both innings, Maxwell believes the failure to score a century will heavily hurt his chances of making the side.

“There is lots of speculation about that number six position and what’s going to happen for that first Ashes test,” Maxwell told SEN on Wednesday.

“I probably threw away two good chances to make hundreds and push my case forward, but I probably also threw away an opportunity to win us the game as well. I’m disappointed I couldn’t do more for the Vics this last game.”

He added: “I looked up a couple of times and saw the replay.

“There were a couple of times where I didn’t like what I saw, so I tinkered with a few things during the first innings and was able to change a few things on the go, which was helpful and I was able to tighten my defence a little bit more.

“I found I was getting ahead of myself with my hands a little bit, so I just brought them a tiny bit back and held back a little bit, which was helpful for me getting through that little period.”