'Not the greatest attitude': Quiney

Rob Quiney believes Victoria teammate Glenn Maxwell should be focusing more on making runs regardless of his position in the batting order after the Australia ODI rep yesterday expressed frustration at being listed below captain and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade for the Bushrangers in the Sheffield Shield.

Maxwell, who returns to green-and-gold on Sunday in Australia's ODI opener against New Zealand at the SCG, told reporters he found it "painful" that he had been pushed down the order to accommodate Wade.

Quick Single: Maxwell's 'painful' batting order issue

With the 'keeper-batsman and fellow middle-order bat Peter Handscomb on Test duties last week, Maxwell was promoted to No.4.

"I think probably batting below the wicketkeeper is also a bit painful … the wicketkeeper should be batting at seven unless you're trying to squeeze an extra bowler into your line-up," Maxwell said.

"I've been just trying to bat wherever I can and trying to make as many runs as I can."

Asked why Wade was batting ahead of him, Maxwell said: "I think because he's captain and he chooses the batting order. That's my view on it."

Quiney, who hasn't played Shield cricket this season but has been a long-time teammate of Maxwell's, insisted the 28-year-old had little to worry about – other than making runs.

"He just needs to hit some runs," Quiney told EON Sports.

"Victoria are flying at the moment, but he's not setting the world on fire himself.

"(He was batting at) six, six, five, three and four (in the order), so I don't know where this has come from.

"It's good that he's honest, unfortunately it's probably not the greatest attitude to have I reckon."

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Maxwell has played three Tests for Australia but has regularly expressed frustration at a lack of red-ball opportunities due to a packed international limited-overs schedule.

Those demands are again set to hamper his ambitions to play more long-form cricket – the format he considers his best – after he made 392 runs at 56 in the 2015-16 Shield summer.

This time around the right-hander has contributed a best of 81 from five innings, with four scores below 30 from his past four hit-outs.

Victoria are riding high in first place in the Shield, with four wins from as many matches, and Handscomb – who returns to the side for Monday's clash with Tasmania in Hobart – says results are all anyone is focused on.

"We're obviously out there to win games for Victoria first and foremost," he told SEN Breakfast.

"We are putting out the order that we think will do that."

Maxwell was in sparkling form last time he played for the national side – in the T20 format in Sri Lanka in September – blasting a spectacular 145 not out from just 64 balls before backing it up with the fastest half-century in Australian T20 history, from just 18 balls.

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