Glenn Maxwell has retired from international cricket with a record of spectacular, often unconventional batting. The 38-year-old, a three-time World Cup winner, was not selected for Australia’s T20 squad to face England and missed the chance for a farewell appearance. His career nevertheless produced a string of remarkable innings, including a performance widely regarded as one of the greatest in ODI history.
The defining example came against Afghanistan at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Australia were 91 for 7 while chasing 292 in a must-win match when Maxwell, unbeaten on 22, was joined by Pat Cummins. Crippled by cramps and needing treatment to continue, Maxwell struck 201 not out from 128 balls, with 21 fours and 10 sixes. His innings carried Australia into the semi-finals and helped set up their eventual title run.
In September 2016, Maxwell opened in a T20 international for the first time, replacing the injured Aaron Finch against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. He made 145 not out from 65 balls, reaching his first T20I fifty in 27 deliveries and his maiden century 22 balls later. Australia scored 263 for 3, surpassing Sri Lanka’s previous record T20I total and matching the highest score in the format at the time.
Maxwell also made a mark in Test cricket despite playing only seven matches. Facing India in Ranchi in 2017, he took a measured approach, waiting until his 56th delivery for his first boundary. He went on to score 104 from 185 balls, his only Test century. He played three more Tests, but his potential in the format remained largely unrealised.
His first international century came in a 2015 World Cup match against Sri Lanka at the SCG. Maxwell reached three figures in 51 balls, then the fastest ODI century by an Australian and the second-fastest in World Cup history. He hit 10 boundaries and four sixes before being dismissed for 102 in another must-win match. Australia went on to win the tournament; Maxwell later added two more World Cup titles, scoring the winning runs in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
At that 2023 World Cup, Maxwell scored another record-breaking century against the Netherlands in New Delhi. Coming to the crease midway through the 41st over, he reached three figures from 40 balls, the fastest century in a men’s Cricket World Cup and still the quickest by an Australian in any ODI. He finished unbeaten on 106, taking particular advantage of a Bas de Leede over with four consecutive boundaries and sixes.
Maxwell’s final century for Australia came against the West Indies in a T20 international at Adelaide Oval early in 2024. After a slower start, he accelerated with sixes from switch hits and reverse sweeps, reaching fifty in 25 balls and a hundred in 50. He ended unbeaten on 120 from 55 deliveries, with eight sixes. It was his fifth T20I century, tying Rohit Sharma’s record for the most by a men’s batter.
Sources: The Guardian Sport.