The pre-match comments created tension in the Australian camp in Sydney ahead of Sunday's first one-day international against New Zealand, with head coach Darren Lehmann and wicketkeeper Wade both unimpressed.

Lehmann insisted on Friday that the pair could operate alongside each other during the three-match ODI series, saying the Australians would "work through it behind the scenes".

Whether the episode will impact on his participation in the series against the Black Caps or on his Australian ambitions beyond that is yet to be seen but it is a sign that the 28-year-old will surely be on the move in the off-season. He had endeavoured to engineer a switch to NSW in the winter but the transfer was blocked by Victoria because it fell outside the appointed transfer window.

The Blues, having had him fall in their lap, had been keen to have him on board then and that position is not expected to be any different if Maxwell becomes available in the new year.

"Our focus is on developing NSW players. If players from other states believe NSW is where they can reach their potential we are happy to have that discussion," Cricket NSW chief executive Andrew Jones said on Friday.

"Peter Nevill [a former Victoria under-19 player] is a recent example of that."

Maxwell was told to "lip it and just make some runs" by Victoria squad teammate Rob Quiney on Friday and the situation with Victoria, who dropped him for the first match of the Sheffield Shield season before he returned to bat below wicketkeeper Wade, appears untenable.

"Victoria are flying at the moment, he's not setting the world on fire himself," Quiney told Eon Sports Radio. "It's good that he's honest, unfortunately it's not the greatest attitude to have, I reckon."

The concern for Australian cricket is that as a result of the scenario at Victoria one of the game's most precocious talents is not being allowed to fulfil his potential.

It is understood it was not Maxwell's intention to mount a personal attack against Wade but simply to mark his dissatisfaction at batting below a wicketkeeper, when asked whether his position in the Victorian order was hurting his chances of a Test recall.

That is not how Lehmann and Cricket Australia like things done, however. The head coach and the establishment want these sort of grievances aired behind closed doors only. He has not received points for honesty.

"[I'm] obviously disappointed but we'll work through those issues," Lehmann said on Friday, adding pointedly that Maxwell was never in contention for a Test call-up in Adelaide when selectors changed half the squad.

"He hasn't made a hundred for two years. Are you going to pick a bloke who hasn't made a hundred in two years?"

Maxwell, whose Sheffield Shield opportunities have been limited by his one-day and Twenty20 roles for Australia, has as a result switched his focus, in terms of Test cricket, towards next February's tour of India, where he made his debut in 2013.

What has become evident in Sydney is that the powers that be in Australian cricket, who exert great influence over the states, need to divert some of their attention to his situation. Maxwell is no rookie and after four years in international cricket should have emerged as a senior player. But he can be a misunderstood character, perhaps unsuited to a one-size-fits-all environment, and is someone who might need a special touch more often than others.

Whether it's in NSW or elsewhere in the country, for Australia to get the best out of Maxwell he is clearly in need of a change.