Maxi’s number comes up on cricket’s roulette wheel

Glenn Maxwell can win or lose any match. In the third ODI against England, he nearly did both.

Glenn Maxwell can win you a match. He can lose you a match. He can win and nearly lose you the same bloody match! To watch him walk out to bat is like watching a dice being thrown across a roulette wheel. Thirty-five different results are possible, and most of them will leave you crying into your post-stumps lager, but every now and again his number comes up … and the exhilaration is real.

What a beauty he is. And what a basket case, for that most boring yet necessary of attributes, consistency. If he was a musician or actor, you’d applaud the mad genius, accepting his off-nights and ragged failures because when he’s great, there ain’t no-one better. Unfortunately, sport cannot be as whimsical as performance art, with scoreboards being so annoyingly important and all, and so Maxwell needs to win more matches than he loses.

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Like Jimi Hendrix playing an upside-down Stratocaster, nothing conventional about it, Maxwell tries this with reverse-handed, across-the-line, upside down, inside out, around-the-back shots that may only become more entertaining if he starts standing on his head to the spinners.

On Wednesday, Maxwell came in amid the ruins of 5-73 at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Australia was chasing England’s 7-302 to win the series-deciding third ODI. His summation: “It was hit or bust.” Buckleys, one would have thought. If it really was roulette, you would not have described yourself as overly confident at that moment but what the heck, give it a whirl. The 32, the number on Maxwell’s back, might come up. He took guard with his left foot pointing at mid-wicket. They get more side-on to hit balls out of Fenway Park. He either had a license to tonk, or he was planning a quick getaway to the pavilion.

Jofra Archer was bowling heat. One short ball that whistled past Marnus Labuschagne’s nose had made the Australian go, wooo! Without having to move said front foot, Maxwell flipped Archer for six with all the bodily movement of someone flipping an omelette. Basically, a snap of the wrists. Fast forward a couple of hours and Maxwell had flipped 106 from 88 balls – wooo! – in a colossal stand of 212 with Alex Carey (106 from 114 deliveries). Australia was cruising, needing only 20 runs for victory from 17 balls. Buckley was going to make it. The miracle of Manchester!

Glenn Maxwell launches the ball towards the leg-side boundary during his record-breaking partnership with Alex Carey Picture: AFP

A drum, a drum, more to come. Maxwell tried a wild heave over mid-wicket you might only attempt in a social game … if you were drunk and hamming it up for your mates. Head up, across the line, one hand flying off the bat, no need for any of it. Maxwell knew the folly. When the ball flukily fell into open space, giving him two runs, he threw his head back in relief. What luck! No more of that. And then next ball – and here’s Maxwell in all his mad glory – he did it again. And was dismissed. Australia coach Justin Langer knew not whether to laugh or cry. Having won Australia the game, Maxwell might just have lost it, but Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc snuck Australia home. The tourists reached 7-305 with two balls and no fingernails to spare, inflicting the first home series loss for England, the world No 1 ODI side, since 2015.

Maxwell was man of the match, man of the series, man of the moment, man of contradictions, man of complexities, man of multitudes. Said he: “It probably wasn’t the ideal situation when I came in but being the last batter, I suppose I had a bit of license to go for it right from the start. We thought if we could take it as deep as we could, myself and Alex, we might be a chance at the back end.”

Maxwell became the fastest player to reach 3000 international ODI runs in terms of balls faced. But it was only his second century in canary yellow, and his first for five years. Australia captain Aaron Finch said: “There’s not too many bowlers in the world who can bother him when he’s having one of those days. It was pretty special. Maxwell is in the team to do a specific role, and that is to take the game away from opposition when you’re having a good day, but also be that guy who can counter-attack and try and swing momentum,” Finch said. “England had all the momentum at five for 70-odd and he just dragged it back.”

Maxwell said: “In the lockdown period I was training with the Australian ODI captain, Finchy, and we were able to talk about my role and talk about certain things. I just had so much clarity on what he expected of me and I think that gave me really good clarity out there. I tried to pick my moments, can’t go every ball. I was still trying to pick the right time and the right ball to go after and if I got the right length I was able to get it up in the air and I was pretty confident it was going to travel.”

Wicketkeeper Carey batted at number six, the spot usually reserved for a specialist batsman. Maxwell came in at number seven, the place usually given to the ‘keeper. Shane Warne said the shrewdest way to use Maxwell’s blistering batsmanship was to spare him the pressure of the top order. Not that any of them contributed much: Dave Warner 24, Finch 12, Marcus Stoinis four, Labuschagne 20, Mitchell Marsh two.

Warne said in his Sky sports commentary: “He is such a match winner and he’s got that x-factor and all those things, you can’t treat him like a batsman. I know he is a batsman but he can win you a game from anywhere so you’ve got to accept a bit of the bad stuff that comes with it. That’s why the No 7 spot, without as much expectation on him and he can play with a bit more freedom, is a better spot for him and he can float in the innings.”