Even shock selection Aaron Finch admits he feels sorry for Glenn Maxwell after he was overlooked for Australia's Test series against Pakistan.
But Finch believes Maxwell's fighting 80 for Victoria in the domestic one-day tournament shows the allrounder has already taken selectors' criticism on board.
Maxwell was the glaring omission in coach Justin Langer's 15-strong squad for the two Test series in UAE which featured five rookies, including 31-year-old Finch.
Finch felt for fellow Victorian Maxwell, who was told to make "big scores" by selectors after being snubbed despite the absence of suspended trio Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their part in the ball-tampering scandal.
However, he believed Maxwell was already on the right track after his innings helped Victoria to a 13-run win over Queensland in their domestic one-day opener on Sunday.
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"You always feel for guys who don't get selected," Finch said.
"But I don't think he could have answered much better getting 80 on a difficult wicket in Townsville against a good Queensland attack.
"It shows his commitment to working on the areas that JL (Langer) identified.
"It was good to see him take that on board and put it into action first up.
"To continue to do that in all formats is really important for Maxy."
Former Test quick Stuart Clark saw something more sinister in Maxwell's omission, taking aim at Langer's "good bloke" selection policy adopted since taking over from Darren Lehmann in May.
He believed Maxwell - who scored 707 Sheffield Shield runs at 50.50 last season - could not have done more with the bat.
"You can only read into that (omission) by saying they are not happy with something about his demeanour or personality," Clark told Sky Sports Radio.
"Maxwell's biggest issue is that he is rocks and diamonds stuff but I still think he deserves an opportunity.
"It's hard because what's worked for a lot of years - do well in grade cricket then do well in Shield cricket and you picked for Australia - doesn't seem to be the way forward.
"I accept that they are putting benchmarks in so they know what they are looking for but it can't be black and white."
