Maxwell's NSW move blocked by Victoria

A last-minute bid by Glenn Maxwell to move from Victoria to New South Wales for the 2016-17 season has been blocked by the Bushrangers, who chose to enforce the terms of his Cricket Australia contract.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Maxwell expressed interest in leaving Victoria for New South Wales during the recent Sri Lanka tour. The approach followed his dumping from the ODI team and the accompanying message from the selectors that he had to become a more consistent batsman to regain his place in 50-over matches and also to challenge for a Test berth.

By way of addressing this, Maxwell sought a move to New South Wales for a change of scene and a chance to advance his maturation as a batsman. New South Wales are believed to have been open to the offer at first, but not pursued further once it became clear Victoria would enforce Maxwell's contract.

All CA-contracted players have a six-week window from the time their deal kicks in on July 1 of each year to state which domestic team they will be playing for in the forthcoming season. However, after that point they are bound to the state they had played for the previous season - Maxwell's request to move states was effectively delivered six weeks too late.

"Glenn is an integral member of the Bushrangers squad," a Cricket Victoria spokesman said. "We'll be working closely with Glenn this season to help him achieve his targets and ensure he is operating at a level to be consistently in contention for Australian selection."

The failed bid to depart creates a conundrum for the newly-appointed Victoria coach Andrew McDonald in terms of working with an unsettled member of his state squad in the forthcoming Matador Cup and then the Shield matches to follow.

In Sri Lanka, Maxwell's star regained some of its former lustre with a pair of explosive Twenty20 innings, taking advantage of the chance to open alongside David Warner. Following his outstanding 145 not out in the first match, he spoke with typical energy about playing Test cricket in the future.

"West Indies was pretty disappointing," Maxwell said. "I felt like I was a bit out of luck there. I just couldn't get a break through that. To not be on the Sri Lanka Test tour probably hurt more than anything. I understood why they dropped me. I had no issues with that. And my scores were quite pitiful, by my standards, for the Australia A team. I think I scored more in this innings than in all my A team innings put together.

"I'd like to think, on the back of my four-day form in Australia, I don't think it should matter where my Tests are played. I wouldn't want to be pigeonholed as a subcontinent specialist, because I know how difficult it is here. All my red-ball runs have been made in either England or Australia. On the back of that I'd like to be picked in Australia."

Numerous players have lifted their Australian prospects by changing states in recent times. Their number has included Ryan Harris (South Australia to Queensland), Chris Rogers (Western Australia to Victoria), Peter Nevill (Victoria to NSW) and Usman Khawaja (NSW to Queensland).