eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
How is it not relative? It's basic sense you need to do more to break into a stronger side than a weaker one.Bending over backwards to abandon the principle of consistency.
There's still an obvious gap in the top six and obviously another spot for a reserve batsman. So don't pretend Australia's batting line-up is now a closed shop.
Smith may have come back into a weaker side but he was also competing against all the other guys outside the team who scored more heavily domestically.
Again, this is not an argument for Maxwell to be selected or for against Smith being in the side. It is merely a statement of fact: Smith was recalled to the Test side without scoring as heavily as Maxwell did this season. You can explain that away with platitudes like "it's all relative" if you like, but the argument that Smith did enough domestically, while Maxwell needs to do more, is a non-starter.