Glenn Maxwell reveals how he survived summer of trauma
Last summer Glenn Maxwell took on the fiercest bowling attacks in cricket without a care in the world, but under the surface he was fighting a complex battle. This is Maxy 2.0.
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A new selfless Glenn Maxwell has revealed how much he learned from he labelled the “trauma” of last summer when he stepped away from the game only to return a happier and more well-rounded person.
Maxwell could be forced to leave Victoria in coming days to ensure he can join an Australian training hub in Western Australia, en route to England, after being recalled to the national squad for a white-ball tour.
He hasn’t played for his country since October last year, when the dynamic batsman took a highly publicised two-month break from cricket to deal with his mental wellbeing.
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The 32-year-old said he discovered he hadn’t been asking the right questions of the right people, and struggled with an “insular” focus on himself.
But Maxwell, who also became engaged earlier this year, said his eyes were opened to not only how people could help him, but how he could help people too.
“I think it comes from a trauma. You have a trauma and find your way out of that and you start to ask the questions, or know the questions you need to ask,” he said.
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“I probably had a lot of questions but didn’t know how to ask. Now having the courage to ask those questions, and find the answers, and move on from there.
“It’s a lot of little things I probably glossed over, I was probably a little bit insular at different times, Maybe during that 2016/17 period, when I was around the Test side and really focused on my own game and trying to get back in to the Test side, I probably left out a few things off the field or during training.
“Ever since I concentrated on those things to be a better leader, a better sounding board for other players, that’s one thing I have worked hard on, making sure I have time for other people.”
Maxwell said modern cricket had become an “inclusive environment” and one in which speaking up helped everyone reach a healthy mental readiness which in turn aided performance.
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“It’s a team sport, with individual acts, but you need to make sure the individual is in a good place to perform for their team,” he said.
“If you are not in the right mental space, or something’s not quite right, people need to know that, and understand why you are like that.
“Luckily enough in our sport these days you are able to speak up and we have the support channel to help you through those times.
“Being able to pick the phone up, or having chats to people at training, I have just found I’ve been getting a lot more out of that, and I find myself in a lot better place.
“Those people helped me through my struggle last year and I’m extremely thankful to them.
“If anything does pop up again, I know I can put my hand up straight away and make sure I can get better.”