BARELY a month after a failed attempt to leave the state, Glenn Maxwell has sensationally been left out of Victoria’s XI for the opening Sheffield Shield match.

The move comes days after Maxwell claimed red-ball cricket was his best format, but also just a few weeks after the 28-year-old tried to shift states to New South Wales, only to have the move blocked by Cricket Australia.

Despite that, Maxwell was expected to make the cut after being named in the 12-man squad by the Bushrangers on Monday.

However when captain Matthew Wade handed over the team sheet to Tasmania at the toss for their clash at the MCG on Tuesday, Maxwell was marked down as 12th man.

New Bushrangers coach Andrew McDonald claimed team balance was the reason for Maxwell’s surprise omission.

“It’s just a matter of balance. There will be some unlucky players,” McDonald said at the MCG.

“We’ve got nearly the full list available and we’ve selected the team we think can beat Tasmania.”

In fairness Victoria possesses a very strong batting line-up with a good mixture of youth and experience, and with veteran Cameron White showing superb form in the Matador One-Day Cup there was a chance a high-profile player would be left out.

But few expected it would be Maxwell, despite his struggles earlier this year.

The all-rounder was dropped from Australia’s one-day side in June and was left out of the squad altogether for recent series in Sri Lanka and South Africa.

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Glenn Maxwell in action for Victoria last summer. Picture: Stephen Laffer. Source: News Corp Australia

However his full talent was on display in a Twenty20 match after the one-day series in Sri Lanka, belting a superb 145 not out and following that up with 66 in the next match.

He had a mixed time in the Matador Cup, posting a half-century and taking six wickets with his part-time off-spin.

It’s difficult to overlook his botched move to NSW in light of the latest developments. Speaking to News Corp Australia earlier this month, Maxwell insisted it would have no lasting effect on his relationship with his teammates.

“I sent a text message to the group saying it was purely me wanting a change and it was purely a cricket decision,” he said.

“No one cared. It was just ‘yeah, we understand. No hard feelings’. We’re all professional.”

Victoria’s new head coach is Andrew McDonald, who only arrived back in the country to start the job after news of Maxwell’s failed move became public.

Last week, Maxwell was asked if it was difficult to stay focused on working his way into the Test team given the plethora of limited-overs cricket he plays throughout the year.

“I’ve said it a fair bit, if you look at my record it’s not hard to stay focused on that (Test cricket) at all,” Maxwell told the Big Sports Breakfast.

“It’s by far my best format. It’s by far my most consistent format as well.

“I feel like I’ve performed really well in Shield cricket over the last few years and even in first-class cricket when I’ve played in England as well.”

Maxwell averages 41.03 with the bat in first-class cricket, and 39.69 with the ball. He scored 392 runs at an average of 56.00 in the Sheffield Shield last summer.

Victoria’s XI: Travis Dean, Marcus Harris, Dan Christian, Peter Handscomb, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade (c), Cameron White, Peter Siddle, Chris Tremain, Jon Holland, Scott Boland.