By Jon Pierik
Glenn Maxwell realised it was time to retire from one-day international cricket when his creaking body struggled to deal with a rock-hard outfield at Lahore during Australia’s ICC Champions Trophy quest in February.
Maxwell is one of Australia’s greatest short-form all-rounders but the 36-year-old’s body has taken a beating over the years.
Pulling up stumps: Glenn Maxwell will be remembered as one of Australian cricket’s greatest ODI players.Credit: Getty Images
The hero of Australia’s 2023 World Cup win, with an innings considered the greatest of all time, announced his retirement from ODIs on Monday after 149 matches, featuring 3990 runs at 33.81 with four centuries and 23 half centuries, and a strike rate of 126.7 - the second highest in ODI cricket behind only West Indian Andre Russell.
He also had 77 wickets at 47.32. And that doesn’t do justice to the dozens of spectacular moments the man dubbed the Big Show produced.
However, Maxwell said he is still available for international T20 matches and domestic T20 tournaments, including the lucrative Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League with his Melbourne Stars.
“My decision to retire from one-day international cricket was probably more so on the back of the first couple of games of the Champions Trophy. I felt like I gave myself a good opportunity to be fit and ready for those games and the first game in Lahore we played on a rock-hard outfield and post that game, I was pretty sore,” Maxwell, a proud Victorian, told the Final Word podcast.
“We were lucky enough to have a washout against South Africa where I had a bit more time to have a bit of rest and get myself ready for the next game. The following game against Afghanistan we fielded for 50 overs on a really, really wet outfield. It was slippery, soft, and I just didn’t pull up that well. And I started to think that if I don’t have the perfect conditions in 50 over cricket, my body, probably, struggles to get through that.
“It feels like it’s a tiring affair just to get through … surviving 50 overs, let alone being at my best through the 50 overs, then going out there and trying to perform with the bat as well. I felt like I was sort of letting the team down a little bit with how my body was reacting to the conditions.”
Maxwell, who returned from a career-threatening broken leg in 2022, spoke to selection chairman George Bailey about his future.
“We basically talked about the 2027 World Cup, and I said to him right there and then: ‘I don’t think I am going to make that, and I think it’s time to start planning for people in my position to have a crack at it and try and make that spot their own for the 2027 World Cup’,” Maxwell said.
“Hopefully, they can get enough of a lead in to, I suppose, have success in that role.”
Maxwell also spoke with his wife, Vini. While he still felt he had much to give, he decided it was easier to maintain “athleticism at a high level” in the T20 format.
“I didn’t want to hold on for a couple of series and almost play for selfish reasons,” he said.
Maxwell’s ODI legacy is assured. His ability to defy painful cramps and blast an unbeaten 201 from 128 deliveries against Afghanistan in the ’23 World Cup, dragging Australia back from the abyss of 7-91 chasing 292 for victory to secure a semi-final berth, is considered one of the greatest ODI knocks of all time. He would hit the winning runs in the final against India.
A man who was ahead of his time with his audacious stroke play and willingness to use the crease, and reverse sweep fast bowlers, Maxwell could sometimes frustrate teammates and fans alike.
“I had a lot of people pointing out my mistakes, I suppose the more mistakes you make, the more lessons you learn. I felt like I had to learn a lot of lessons throughout my career,” Maxwell said, smiling.
“For the role I was playing in the Australian side, it was always be attacking, try and take the game on, and try and be the matchwinner.”
His breakthrough ODI century came with a thumping 102 off 53 balls against Sri Lanka in Sydney during the 2015 World Cup. He had been under pressure to retain his spot that summer, but delivered a series of impressive knocks before and during the tournament to reaffirm his position in a team which went on to claim the ultimate success.
Happy days: World Cup winners Glenn Maxwell and David Warner in 2023.Credit: Getty Images
“That was probably the first time in my one-day career I was forced to show a little bit of resilience,” Maxwell said.
There were centuries against England in Manchester [2020] and a 106 against the Netherlands, also during the ’23 World Cup.
Glenn Maxwell was unorthodox but effective for Australia in ODI cricket.Credit: Getty
There were also disappointments, including the 2019 World Cup in England, when he struggled against the short ball. Maxwell took a mental health break after that tournament.
A brilliant fielder, whether in the outfield or throwing down the stumps from closer in, Maxwell also had a knack of claiming key breakthroughs with his off-spin.
Bailey said Maxwell, a former teammate, was “one of the one-day game’s most dynamic players”.
“His level of natural talent and skill is remarkable. His energy in the field, under-rated ability with the ball and longevity has been superb. What else stands out is his passion for and commitment to playing for Australia,” Bailey said.
“Fortunately, he still has much to offer Australia in the T20 format. All things going well, he will be pivotal in the next 12 months as we build toward the World Cup early next year.”
While Maxwell has fulfilled his white-ball talent, he played all seven of his Tests overseas [including a century in India], and has been left to wonder what may have been in the traditional format.
Teenager Peake promoted
After just one first class match, Victorian batting prodigy Oliver Peake has been chosen in the Australia A squad that will play a series of three one-day matches and two four-day matches against Sri Lanka A in Darwin next month. Peake was picked alongside another raw Victorian, seam-bowling all-rounder Sam Elliott, the son of former Test batter Matthew Elliott.
The Australia A squad: Sam Elliott, Matt Gilkes, Bryce Jackson, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan McSweeney, Jack Nisbet, Mitch Perry, Kurtis Patterson, Oliver Peake, Josh Philippe, Matt Renshaw, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Billy Stanlake, Henry Thornton, Jake Weatherald.
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