Glenn Maxwell opens up on his relationship with alcohol and ‘unfair’ public perceptions

Glenn Maxwell has opened up on his relationship with alcohol and ‘unfair’ public perceptions – plus the mysterious evening in India that was the most scary of the cricketer’s life.

Glenn Maxwell claims his relationship with alcohol has been unfairly characterised but takes responsibility for missteps including a mysterious night of fear in India.

Opening up to this masthead to mark the release of his new book The Showman, the star all-rounder conceded he had deserved criticism at times for some of his after-dark activities but that drinking had been overstated as a factor in a string of high-profile incidents in which he has come a cropper.

In the space of 15 months from late 2022, Maxwell broke his leg at a friend’s birthday party, missed an ODI World Cup match after falling off a golf cart in India and was hospitalised after a day of golfing and drinking in Adelaide.

Glenn Maxwell found himself in trouble after falling off a golf cart last year. Picture: Sri Lanka Cricket

While accepting in the book that the “loose-unit narrative about me is impossible to disperse,” Maxwell said commentary about his lifestyle and professionalism had been over the top.

“Do I feel it’s been unfair at times? Yeah. There’s certain incidents when I’ve stuffed up, that’s fair. But when I haven’t stuffed up and it gets judged like that, that’s where I get a bit frustrated,” Maxwell said.

“I find it unfair that anything that happens away from the game of cricket, it gets related to alcohol. That’s what I find frustrating.

“Like if I go for a coffee and slip over on the side of the road and someone goes, ‘Oh Maxwell, another alcohol-related incident, falls down a drainpipe,’ it’s like well it’s 10 in the morning, it’s been raining.

“Was he out the night before? How many drinks did he have the night before? Then it’s all of a sudden like, ‘Well, I had one.’ So it is alcohol-related. Where does it stop. That’s where I get a little bit frustrated. I’m no different to any other cricketer. I pick and choose my times that I can try to be at my best for game day, training days and all that other sort of stuff. To say that I’ve done it to the detriment of my career at any stage I think is unfair.”

Glenn Maxwell says the focus on his alcohol intake has been ‘unfair’ at times. Picture: Getty

Maxwell reveals in the book that Mitch Marsh had been driving the golf cart when it crashed in Ahmedabad 12 months ago, leaving Maxwell concussed and ruled out of the upcoming game against England. But in detailing the lead-up and aftermath, Maxwell stressed that Marsh had not been at fault.

But there is another episode in India about which Maxwell has refused to elaborate. It came during an Indian Premier League stint with Kings XI Punjab in 2017. The Mumbai Mirror reported the following year that an intoxicated Maxwell chose to ride his bicycle back to the team hotel in Rajkot where his side was playing the Gujarat Lions.

Maxwell would only share certain parts of his experience that night.

“I had a night at a different hotel. That was a bad night. I was at fault. But at least that was at the end of the game, that was post-game. I’d rather not talk about that one. I hated that night, that was a bad night,” Maxwell said.

“I was scared that night and I’d rather not talk about it. That was the most scared I’d been on a night, trying to get back to the hotel and get lost in the middle of India.”

Glenn Maxwell’s heroic role in the 2023 World Cup is also covered extensively in his new book. Picture: Getty

The wide-ranging book co-written with Adam Collins focuses primarily on Maxwell’s road from the horrific leg break to his heroic role in Australia’s 2023 World Cup win in India last year.

However it also charts Maxwell’s journey from growing up in suburban Melbourne and at-times challenging relationships with Steve Smith, Justin Langer and Virender Sehwag, among others.

The three-time World Cup winner said that he had not been mature enough at times, crediting former New Zealand coach and Melbourne Stars coach Stephen Fleming with trying to change the way Maxwell was perceived.

“He was really good for me. Really calm hand, really intelligent guy, really well-spoken. Helped teach me about delivering messages, professionalism around training,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell has credited former Melbourne Stars head coach Stephen Fleming with helping him mature as a player and person. Picture: Getty

“I needed to get a bit more mature and grow up a bit. And all those relationships have probably helped me along the way grow up and mature at probably a different rate to some of the other guys. I’m so grateful for all the relationships I’ve had along the way that helped shape me into who I am today and be I suppose at peace with a lot of that stuff and be able to put it on paper and talk about those incidents and how they were relevant to my journey at some stage during that year.”

Maxwell also opens up about being diagnosed with depression in 2019, and his wife Vini’s 2022 miscarriage.

Originally published as Glenn Maxwell opens up on his relationship with alcohol and ‘unfair’ public perceptions