Glenn Maxwell’s bizarre leave shows he’s a man in mental meltdown, writes Ron Reed

GLENN Maxwell’s extraordinary no-shot dismissal — one of the most embarrassing witnessed — looked like the work of a man in a mental meltdown.

Maxwell a man in mental meltdown

GLENN Maxwell’s extraordinary no-shot dismissal — one of the most embarrassing witnessed in any form of elite cricket — looked like the work of a man in a mental meltdown.

What was he thinking when he stepped back and watched the first ball he faced for the Melbourne Stars against Brisbane Heat crash into his stumps for a golden duck? Was he thinking at all?

Maxwell hasn’t been much inclined to talk publicly as his form has deteriorated alarmingly over the past few weeks and left it to teammate Bobby Quiney to field questions.

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But for some time the word has been that he is desperate for a rest.

That’s not altogether surprising — in 2014 he has played 51 Twenty20 matches, a Test, 17 ODIs, four Sheffield Shield games, a county match and two domestic one-dayers in Australia, England South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, India and the United Arab Emirates.

Glenn Maxwell bizarrely left this delivery against the Brisbane Heat.

At 26, he has become a millionaire doing it so he shouldn’t necessarily expect any outpouring of public sympathy — indeed, he was under heavy fire on social media.

And perhaps it’s a case of be careful what you wish for — the rest he is in grave danger of getting is from the World Cup, the showpiece tournament in which every cricketer wants to participate especially if they’re short-form specialists as he is.

He has already been left out once this summer, against South Africa, and coach and selector Darren Lehmann has never been the biggest fan of his spectacular but idiosyncratic style, especially when it doesn’t come off, putting the team under pressure.

On the other hand, he can and often does win matches — so whichever way it goes at the selection table, it’s going to be a very close call.

If he misses out, that will probably leave Aaron Finch as the only Victorian, with Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards having pointedly suggested this week that the Big V hasn’t been contributing enough players. For the traditional home of the great game, that’s embarrassing.

Maxwell’s last 10 T20 matches, taking in the Champions League, internationals against Pakistan and South Africa and the Big Bash, have produced only 105 runs at 10.5, including 7, 12 and 0 for the Stars.

He was unlucky to be given out to a catch he didn’t hit against the Adelaide Strikers and was fined for banging his bat against the fence as he stormed off — another sign he is not in a happy place just now.

Other than Kevin Pietersen, Maxwell is the Stars’ highest profile player so his dearth of runs has certainly contributed heavily to the marquee team losing all three games, effectively putting them out of contention for a title they have never been able to win.

Melbourne Stars’ Glenn Maxwell has had a disappointing start to BBL04.

In that context, the decision to allow Pietersen to miss the Brisbane game so he could go home for Christmas — which they also did for Shane Warne when he was captain — looks even harder to justify, given the huge money he is being paid to be one of the faces of the competition.

It has amateur hour written all over it.

If Pietersen had been available, Quiney wouldn’t have got a game and yet almost salvaged a lost cause with an amazing innings — so what now? Axe the Max? Surely it hasn’t quite come to that.

A final thought: Sunday’s fare at the MCG was about as good as Test cricket gets. That night, T20 was also highly enjoyable in its own way.

If I had to choose which one to watch again, it would be the sublime Indian batting — but, happily, T20 continues to defy its many knockers in highly entertaining fashion.

With the third format about to take centre stage, this is proving to be a very good summer to be a cricket fan.

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Twitter: @Reedrw

Originally published as Glenn Maxwell’s bizarre leave shows he’s a man in mental meltdown, writes Ron Reed