Battered from pillar to post after his recent run of outs, Maxwell lit up Manuka Oval with a spectacular knock of 136 from 89 balls for the Prime Minister's XI against England on Wednesday night.

Maxwell's heroics in front of a crowd of 8077 fans weren't enough to prevent the PM's XI going down to the tourists by 60 runs, with England opener Ian Bell posting the highest score in the fixture's history with 187.

The PM's XI finished at 331 off 48.1 overs in reply to England's 6-391.

Maxwell had been under the pump after a series of low scores both for Australia and for the Melbourne Stars, the low point coming when he left a ball that hit middle stump in a Big Bash League game against the Brisbane Heat.

The emotion was there for all to see when Maxwell smashed a pull shot over the rope to bring up his century, pumping his fist and swinging his bat wildly in celebration.

Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins, who had the figures of 0-52 from his six overs for the PM's XI, praised Maxwell for his performance.

"We all know what Maxy is capable of and to see him go out and do that is phenomenal," Cummins said.

"For a player like him, he needs that kind of confidence to go out and be quite fearless and we saw that tonight. Hopefully he can carry on that form and be fearless the whole World Cup and Tri-series campaign."

Maxwell relished the opportunity to bat at first drop for the PM's XI and also on a traditionally slow pitch renowned for high scores.

Bell was just as impressive in guiding England to a formidable total.

After scoring his first 100 runs from 102 balls, he put the foot on the accelerator to score his final 87 from just 43 deliveries.

For Bell, it was a chance to return to the top of the order after he was left off last year's series in Sri Lanka.

"It's nice to get some runs in the week we've had here," Bell said.

"It's a nice start to the tour and hopefully we can kick on in the main games. It got better and better as the innings went on. I've done a lot of netting in the last month, so it's nice to get a real big score in a competitive game."

Moeen Ali got the innings off to a flyer with 71 from 49, while Taylor also got among with the runs with 71 in a positive sign ahead of the tri-series.

The visitors fielded a near full-strength line-up, with fast bowler James Anderson the only notable omission.

Promising left-armer Jason Behrendorff pressed his claims for higher honours taking 4-78 from his 10 overs, showing why the Perth Scorchers' quick is the leading wicket-taker in the BBL.

Test opening batsman Chris Rogers captained the PM's XI, coming into the team as a late replacement for the injured Michael Hussey.

After a rare stint at the bowling crease, Rogers made 20 before England 'keeper Jos Buttler sprinted 35 metres to take a spectacular catch.

Cameron Bancroft (15) and Peter Handscomb (16) both fell cheaply while youngster Jake Doran chipped in with 37.

ACT Comets batsman Matt Condon scored 19 off 22 balls before he was bowled by spinner James Tredwell.