Glenn Maxwell is expecting to find a happier Australian camp when he joins the squad ahead of the upcoming one-day international series against Pakistan.
The enigmatic all-rounder retained his place in the squad for the series, which begins in Brisbane on Friday, despite being overlooked for all three of last month's Chappell-Hadlee ODIs against New Zealand.
While he carried the drinks for the duration of that series, Maxwell was a regular in the headlines, and was fined for controversial pre-series comments critical of Australian teammate and Victorian captain Matthew Wade.
Australia came into that series on the back of a 2-1 Test defeat to South Africa, but with a clean sweep against the Black Caps, Steve Smith's side repeated the dose by beating Pakistan 3-0 in the Test series that finished in Sydney on Saturday.
Having put the Wade controversy behind him, Maxwell departs from Big Bash club Melbourne Stars eagerly anticipating his return to the international scene.
"Excited about getting the opportunity to chuck the colours on again," Maxwell said.
"I'm just looking forward to being part of that squad again. It's an exciting to come in on such a high after they've just won the Tests 3-0.
"The last time, obviously, it was a tough time when they went 2-1 down to South Africa. I'm sure the guys will be up and about."
Maxwell hasn't played an ODI in more than six months, having been dropped following a lean series mid-year in the West Indies.
Victorian teammate Aaron Finch has been left out of the squad for the upcoming series after a poor stretch of form in which he averaged just 16.25 from eight innings in Australia's two most recent ODI series against South Africa and New Zealand, passing 50 just once.
The Melbourne Renegades captain's disappointing week continued on Saturday night when his club side was beaten in the local BBL derby against the Stars at Etihad Stadium by 46 runs.
Not that Finch disagreed with his axing. Speaking after the match, Finch said he couldn't argue with chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns, who called the 30-year-old during the week to inform him of the news.
"I was obviously disappointed, but at the same time I can't really kick cans," Finch said. "I haven't made many runs in the last couple of series. I think I scored 215 runs in my last 10 hits. That's not really good enough when you've got guys performing well in this format, performing well in the Matador [Cup],"
"I've got no one else to blame but myself. When Trevor rang me I said 'I can't disagree with you', which is the sad thing. Usually when you get dropped you want to be able to fire back some bullets, but I had absolutely nothing. I had myself to blame for not getting runs for the last 10 or 12 hits."
Finch made just 27 against the Stars, and is averaging 36 so far in the BBL. He said he needed regular big scores to force his way back into the ODI squad. "I'm hitting it where I want the majority of the time, just getting out a little bit."
Maxwell said he was hopeful Finch's ODI career wasn't over. "He'll probably know that he didn't have the runs under the belt that he would have liked," Maxwell said.
"But in saying that, he's a very good player and he's continued to do well this Big Bash and hopefully he can make some runs and push his case to get back in there because he's a great player and a great mate, and someone who I'd love to take the field with again for Australia. It's been a while."
