Glenn Maxwell

T20 franchise cricket

Maxwell has played in Twenty20 cricket franchises leagues in Australia, India and England. In the domestic Big Bash League he played for Melbourne Renegades in 2012–13 and has since played for Melbourne Stars. During the 2021–22 season he scored 154 not out against Hobart Hurricanes, breaking the record for the highest individual score in the league and leading his team to the highest team total in league history.^[25]

In India he played for Delhi Daredevils in 2012 before being bought in the 2013 IPL auction by Mumbai Indians, becoming the most expensive purchase at the auction, commanding a price of US$1 million.^[26] In 2014 he was bought by Kings XI Punjab, making scores of 95, 89, 95 and 90 runs during the season. In 16 games he had the season's third highest aggregate of runs scored with 552 runs at an average of 34.50 runs per innings^[27] and was retained by the side for the following two seasons.^[28] He returned to play for Delhi ahead of the 2018 season^[29] He again had a poor season, scoring 142 runs at an average of 14 and not passing 50 once.^[30] before being the subject of a bidding war between Delhi and Punjab ahead of the 2020 season, eventually being bought by Punjab. In 2021, he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore after another bidding war, this time with the Chennai Super Kings,^[31] and finished the season as the team's highest scorer, with 513 runs.^[32] He was retained by the side for the 2022 season.^[33]

In England, Maxwell has played for Hampshire, Surrey, Yorkshire, Lancashire and Warwickshire County Cricket Clubs in the T20 Blast and for London Spirit in the 2022 season of The Hundred.^[34]

Test match debut

After scoring 51 not out from 35 balls opening the batting against West Indies in the first ODI of in February,^[56] Maxwell took four wickets in the second match of the series.^[57] He was subsequently selected for Australia's Test tour of India later in the month as an all-rounder.^[58][59][60] He made his Test debut against India in the second Test at Hyderabad as the team's second spinner, supporting Xavier Doherty with established lead spin bowler Nathan Lyon dropped. He scored 13 and 8 runs in the first and second innings respectively, but took 4/127 with the ball.^[61] He was dropped from the team for the third Test as Australia opted for more specialist bowlers,^[62] but brought back for the fourth and final Test in Delhi, replacing injured batsman Michael Clarke. He scored 10 and 8 runs.^[63]

Later in 2013, Maxwell played in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England,^[64][65] but was not selected for the 2013 Ashes which followed the competition. He went to South Africa with Australia A, making a first-class century against South Africa A and a limited overs century against India A in a tri-series.^[66][17][67]

By now an established member of Australia's one-day teams, Maxwell returned to India in October as part of an Australian limited overs tour of India and played against England later in the year. He was named in Australia's 15-man squad for 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, scoring 74 runs from 33 balls against Pakistan in Australia's first match of the competition.^[68] He finished the tournament as Australia's second highest run scorer, making 147 runs.

Maxwell made a return to the Test team in October 2014 against Pakistan in the UAE, playing in the second match of the two-match series. He scored 37 in the first innings and four in the second and was wicket-less; he performed better during the one-day matches.

2015 World Cup

Maxwell was selected in Australia's 15-man squad for the ODI World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in early 2015.^[69] He scored 95 runs and took four wickets against England in final of the warm-up triangular series in early February and began the tournament well, making scores of 66 from 40 balls in the first match against England,^[70] and 88 from 39 balls against Afghanistan.^[71] Later in the tournament, he scored his maiden international century, scoring 102 against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He brought up his century in 51 balls, at the time recording the fastest century by an Australian man in an ODI and the second-fastest in World Cup history.^[72][73]

In the quarter-final against Pakistan, Maxwell took two wickets and scored 44 runs,^[74] before scoring 23 against India in the semi-final.^[75] He did not bat in the final against New Zealand but took a wicket as Australia won their fifth World Cup title.^[76][77] Maxwell ended the tournament as Australia's third highest run scorer, scoring 324 runs at a batting average of 64.80 runs per innings.

Maxwell continued to be a fixture in Australia's one-day sides following the World Cup. He was names as Cricket Australia's men's T20I Player of 2015 at the Allan Border Medal ceremony^[78] and played regularly throughout 2015 and the first half of 2016. He was not included in either the Test and ODI teams for Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 2016, but was in the side for the T20I series. In early September he scored an unbeaten 145 from 65 deliveries opening the batting at Kandy, at the time the second-highest individual score in men's Twenty20 Internationals.^[79][80][81] Maxwell returned to the ODI side at the beginning of 2017 for the series against Pakistan, making scores of 60 in first ODI^[17] and 78 in the fourth match.^[82] He was named as Cricket Australia's men's ODI Player of 2016.^[78]

Test return in 2017

In February 2017, Maxwell was selected for Australia's squad for the Test tour of India. He played in the opening tour game against India A but did not make the side for the first two Tests, with Mitchell Marsh preferred as the side's all-rounder. An injury to Marsh saw Maxwell return to the side in the third Test of the series, scoring his maiden Test century. His score of 104 runs^[83] meant that be became the second Australian man to score a century in all three international formats.^[84][85] He scored 8 and 45 in the fourth Test. In 2018 he was indirectly accused by an Al Jazeera documentary of being a suspect in a set of spot-fixing allegations surrounding the third Test.^[86] He denied all of the allegations levelled against him.^[87][88]

After playing in Australia's side in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales in June, Maxwell was selected again in the Test squad for Australia's tour of Bangladesh in August and September.^[89] He played in both Tests during the series, preferred as a spin bowling option in south-Asian conditions.^[90][91] After struggling on Australia's ODI tour of India later in September, he was dropped from the side during the tour and lost his place in the Test team for the 2017–18 Ashes series. He was called into the squad as cover after before the first Test following injuries to Shaun Marsh and David Warner the day before the game^[92][93] but did not play. Despite scoring 278 for Victoria against New South Wales^[94] and 98 against Western Australia,^[95] Maxwell did not play in the series, and Mitchell Marsh scored two centuries, cementing his role as the team's all-rounder. He was not selected for the one-day side against England, with Chris Lynn replacing him. When Lynn was injured the selectors called Cameron White into the side rather than Maxwell, with Australian coach Darren Lehmann confirming that Maxwell had not be selected due to his lack of runs rather than concerns around his attitude to international cricket.^[96]

Australia's captain Steve Smith suggested at a press conference that Maxwell could "train smarter", commenting that although he was an explosive one-day player than he should aim for more consistency in his game,^[97] a view echoed by head selector Trevor Hohns.^[98][99] He was called into the squad for the final two matches following an injury to Aaron Finch, playing in the final match of the series scoring 34 runs.^[100]

Limited overs return in 2018

Maxwell returned to Australia's squad for the 2017–18 Trans-Tasman Tri-Series involving New Zealand and England in early 2018.^[101] In the first T20I of the series, he scored 40 from 24 balls against New Zealand,^[102] before making a century against England in the second match, making 103 runs from 58 balls.^[103][104] He also took three wickets in the match.

In March, Maxwell was briefly recalled to the Australian Test squad following the suspensions of Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft for ball tampering during the Australian 2018 Tour of South Africa, but did not play in the final Test of the series. The following month he was awarded a national contract for the 2018–19 season^[105][106] and played during the ODI tour of England, scoring 112 runs at an average of 37.33,^[107] and in the side's tours throughout 2018 and into 2019.

Despite being omitted from the Test squad to play Pakistan in October 2018,^[108] Maxwell had re-established himself in the one-day side. He scored his third T20I century during the tour of India in early 2019, making 113 not out and becoming the first Australian man to score three T20I centuries. He was again named as Cricket Australia's men's T20I player of the year for 2019.

He played in Australia's squad in the 2019 Cricket World Cup^[109][110] before announcing in October that he would be taking a short break from cricket due to mental health issues.^{[111][112][113]}

He returned later in the domestic season and toured England in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.^{[114][115][116][117]} In the ODI series, Maxwell impressed with the bat, scoring 186 runs at an average of 62, including a score of 108 in the final ODI. He was named player of the series. His form continued into the Australian summer when India toured Australia, but he was not selected for the Test side. He did, however, play in Australia's squad in the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup,^[118]