Tag: Glenn Maxwell

OAKLAND: Glenn Maxwell turned back the clock with a vintage T20 masterclass, hammering an unbeaten 106 off just 49 deliveries to lead Washington Freedom to a commanding 113-run win over Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 on Tuesday.

Playing at the Oakland Coliseum, Maxwell, captaining Washington, walked in under pressure at 68-4 and with the team teetering at 92-5 by the 12th over.

But what followed was a typical Maxwell masterclass as he tore apart the LA Knight Riders’ bowling attack with 13 towering sixes and two boundaries in a brutal exhibition of power-hitting.

The Aussie all-rounder, who took his time early on (9 off 12), launched into overdrive with a hat-trick of sixes off fellow countryman Tanveer Sangha.

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He followed that up with twin maximums off Corne Dry and then dispatched Sunil Narine thrice over the ropes to bring up a 29-ball fifty.

Glenn Maxwell didn’t hit a single four until after his 10th six, which came off Andre Russell in the penultimate over.

He brought up his eighth T20 ton in the final over with three more massive sixes off Jason Holder, powering Washington to 208-5. His 97-run blitz in a 116-run sixth-wicket stand with Obus Pienaar (14*) changed the complexion of the game.

In reply, LA Knight Riders crumbled under scoreboard pressure. Chasing 209, they were blown away for just 95 in 16.3 overs, their third straight defeat of the tournament.

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The collapse began early, with both openers dismissed for ducks and Unmukt Chand following soon after.

At 10-3, the writing was on the wall. Saif Badar (32 off 31) and Jason Holder (23 off 16) showed some resistance, but no one else got going against a disciplined Washington attack.

Jack Edwards and Mitchell Owen claimed three wickets apiece, while Saurabh Netravalkar finished with 2 for 6 in a miserly spell.

With this resounding win, Washington Freedom climbed to third on the MLC 2025 points table, while LA Knight Riders remain winless after three games, stuck at number five.

READ: Pakistan will not face THESE two teams in WTC 2025–27 cycle

OAKLAND: Ian Holland’s impressive four-wicket haul, coupled with Glenn Maxwell’s return to form secured an emphatic win for Washington Freedom against Seattle Orcas in the third match of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 at the Oakland Coliseum here on Sunday.

The defending champions, Washington Freedom, bounced back, chasing a meagre 146-run target in only 13.3 overs on the loss of five wickets.

The openers provided Freedom a rollicking start, with Mitchell Owen and Raching Ravindra smashing 49 runs in only three overs.

Cameron Gannon finally broke the rapid stand with Owen’s wicket, who departed after scoring 25 off 11 balls with the aid of two sixes and a boundary.

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The Washington Freedom dominated the match, ending the power play with a score of 90. Meanwhile, Seattle Orcas tried to make a comeback with wickets of Andries Gous and well-set Ravindra’s wickets in successive overs.

Gous was the first to go, clean bowled by Waqar Salamkheil after scoring 16, while Obed McCoy ended Ravindra’s brisk innings of 44. The left-hander smashed four sixes and four boundaries in his 18-ball knock.

With Washington Freedom being reduced to 92-3 in 7.2 overs, skipper Glenn Maxwell arrived at the crease. He shared a brief 29-run partnership with Glenn Phillips, bringing the score to 121 at the halfway stage of the innings.

The wickets of Glenn Philips (3) and Jack Edwards (6) in back-to-back overs did not halt the defending champions’ momentum as they hit the winning runs comfortably in 13.3 overs.

Maxwell remained unbeaten on the score of 38*, hitting three fours and three sixes.

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For Seattle Orcas, Waqar Salamkheil bagged two wickets while Cameron Gannon, Obed McCoy and Harmeet Singh took one wicket each.

Earlier, Seattle Orcas, after electing to bat first, managed to score 145-9 in their allocated 20 overs.

David Warner remained the top scorer, scoring 31 off 17 balls, striking four boundaries and a six.

For Washington Freedom, the Player of the Match, Ian Holland, starred with the ball, taking four wickets in his quota of four overs.

READ: Lionel Messi denied late winner in Club World Cup opener

Former all-rounder Shane Watson has named Glenn Maxwell as the stand-out player for Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Watson has backed the explosive batter to shine in the marquee event following his brilliant form in the Big Bash League this season.

“The stand-out player for me is Glenn Maxwell,” Watson wrote in his recent ICC column.

“With what I have seen recently, especially in the Big Bash, I believe he has some of his best cricket in front of him across the next two or three years, and I would be very surprised if he does not dominate this Champions Trophy,” said the event Ambassador.

He also mentioned his incredible innings against Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup 2023, where he smashed a breathtaking double-century.

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“He had that incredible innings against Afghanistan in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, where he scored a double century, but he has struggled to be consistent at times. That’s the nature of his role in the team.

“However, it now just feels like it has all fallen into place for him, and that’s with everything in his life, not just his cricket, so I think he will play a pivotal part,” Watson added.

With key Australian players not part of the team for the Champions Trophy, Watson still believes that the Aussies will be a team to beat.

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“I think Australia will be very hard to beat, even if their bowling squad is not quite as experienced as they might otherwise have been,” remarked Watson.

Glenn Maxwell was also pivotal to Australia’s Cricket World Cup triumph in 2023, finishing with 400 runs from nine games.

For the unaware, Australia will be without their pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc. They will play their first match of the eight-nation tournament against England tomorrow at Lahore’s newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium.

READ: Former Australian great predicts winner of Pakistan-India Champions Trophy clash

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has labelled Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi as major threats for the home side in the upcoming white-ball series.

Pakistan is set to tour Australia in November for a six-match white-ball series, which will embark with the ODI series on 4 November.

The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the series opener, while the subsequent matches are scheduled on November 8 and 10 in Adelaide and Perth, respectively.

The ODI series will be followed by a three-match T20I series, scheduled to commence on November 14.

Glenn Maxwell, while talking to the media in Melbourne, highlighted the unpredictability of Pakistan and labelled the Green Shirts as a dangerous opposition.

“The Pakistan team can be very dangerous at different times. They have been challenging opponents for us in the past,” stated Maxwell.

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“When you’re playing against a team like Pakistan, they can be unpredictable, which makes it so hard to play against them, you never know what to expect from them.”

Maxwell then heaped praise on Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam and pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi. He emphasized that the Australian team should effectively deal with the challenge posed by Babar and Shaheen in the upcoming series.

“They’ve got some world-class players, we’ve got to keep an eye on Babar Azam, he is a superstar player, and Shaheen Afridi, he is a magician with the new ball,” the all-rounder said.

“We are not taking this series lightly. We are preparing for the series; we need to deliver our best to get the upper hand against Pakistan.”

Schedule of Pakistan’s white-ball tour to Australia

Pakistan vs Australia ODI series schedule:

November 4: First ODI at MCG, Melbourne
November 8: Second ODI at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
November 10: Third ODI at Perth Stadium, Perth

Pakistan vs Australia T20I series schedule:

November 14: First T20I at The Gabba, Brisbane
November 16: Second T20I at SCG, Sydney
November 18: Third T20I at Bellerive Oval, Hobart

READ: England captain wary of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah threat in first Pakistan Test

Australian Test cricketer Usman Khawaja has extended his support for teammate Glenn Maxwell, expressing optimism that the all-rounder will showcase his top form in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, despite his recent performance in the IPL.

Maxwell represented Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the recently concluded IPL, where he managed a meagre 52 runs in nine innings.

However, Khawaja backed Maxwell, calling IPL form ‘irrelevant.’ He expressed hope that the all-rounder will bounce back during the mega-event.

“The IPL form is absolutely irrelevant. Maxy’s proven himself time and time again. Any player who’s performed over a long period of time understands that you can’t perform well every time you go out there,” Khawaja said while speaking to the West Australian.

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The experienced opener acknowledged the high-risk nature of T20 cricket, where the middle-order batters often need to maintain higher strike rates. However, Usman Khawaja expressed confidence that Glenn Maxwell only requires one innings to regain his form.

“You take a few risks, particularly if you bat in the middle order, and T20 cricket’s not easy. But [for this tournament] if he gets one good innings, he’s away. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past. He’s not going to change his game and nor should he. Just keep going. He’ll find it,” Khawaja added.

Maxwell did not participate in Australia’s first T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up fixture against Namibia yesterday, along with Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis. These players were participating in IPL and expected to link up with the team soon.

Australia will face co-hosts West Indies in their final warm-up match on Thursday at the same venue.

READ: Hansi Flick replaces Xavi as Barcelona coach

Glenn Maxwell is still feeling the effects of his stunning ICC World Cup 2023 double-century against Afghanistan and could now miss Australia’s final group match against Bangladesh in Pune on Saturday.

Australia will also look at calling up fast bowler Sean Abbott in a bid to rest one of their frontline pace trio, given captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have featured in all eight matches so far in the tournament.

The Bangladesh game is a ‘dead’ fixture for Australia, given they have already qualified for the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup 2023 after Maxwell’s astounding innings ensured they defeated Afghanistan by three wickets, having collapsed to 91-7 chasing 292, in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Five-time champions Australia are now set to play South Africa in a Kolkata semi-final on Thursday, having won six games in a row after starting the tournament with two defeats.

“He’s definitely been in full recovery mode the last few days,” Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori said of Glenn Maxwell.

“We all saw the effects of the innings and in particular the heat, so I think today (Friday) is a big day,” the former New Zealand captain added.

“Obviously, we’ve had a couple of days off, so there’s been no training. He’s not here today but we’ll just see how he feels as the day continues.”

Glenn Maxwell, while completing his 147th run, suffered severe cramps in both legs and then underwent a back spasm as he collapsed to the turf at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

Yet despite being barely able to move in his crease, Glenn Maxwell still went on to make 201 not out from 128 balls.

The 35-year-old all-rounder struck 21 fours and secured both victory and his double century with a tenth six.

Australia are set to leave a decision on whether to play Maxwell against Bangladesh until shortly before the game, with star batsman Steve Smith set to be recalled following a bout of vertigo.

If Glenn Maxwell is omitted and Smith included, that would spare Australia’s selectors from deciding if they had to drop either batsman Marnus Labuschagne or all-rounder Marcus Stoinis.

Meanwhile, Vettori said the 31-year-old Abbott had a chance of a World Cup debut.

“To try to get those three fast bowlers (Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood) through nine games and in a short period of time, we always presumed that would be a tough challenge,” said Vettori.

“So Sean was always in the picture as a potential replacement for one of them…It’s just weighing up how everyone’s come through these last few days.”

Although little rests on the outcome of Saturday’s match, Vettori added Australia were still keen to leapfrog South Africa into second place in the standings.

“I think the home dressing room at (Kolkata’s) Eden Gardens is better than the away one, so we want second place so we can get in that dressing room,” he said.

READ: Rachin Ravindra named ICC Men’s Player of the Month for October 2023

In-form all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of Australia’s ICC World Cup 2023 clash against England, head coach Andrew McDonald said on Wednesday.

According to the details, Maxwell suffered a concussion due to falling off a golf cart this week.

He fell on his back off the buggy after playing a round of golf, ahead of his side’s all-important contest against defending champions England on Saturday.

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As per Cricket Australia’s concussion protocols, Glenn Maxwell’s condition will be monitored for a few days.

“He’s doing fine, he’ll start some light exercises today and we feel as though it will be a reasonably straightforward return to play protocol,” McDonald told reporters.

“I suppose the fortunate part was there was no other injury sustained which could have been a lot worse than it is. I think it rattled everyone to be fair once it came to the conclusion there was a concussion and he was going to miss a game.

“There was nothing untoward in the behaviour throughout the day, it was a clear-cut accident. Unfortunately, it’s compromised what we are doing as a team.”

For the unversed, Maxwell missed Australia’s away series against South Africa before the ICC World Cup 2023 with an ankle issue.

He also broke his leg, last November, in a freak accident at a birthday party in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Glenn Maxwell has turned up to be a crucial asset for Australia with his hard-hitting ability and as a disciplined off-spinner.

In his side’s ICC World Cup 2023 fixture against the Netherlands, Glenn Maxwell stunned the World Cup by smashing the fastest World Cup hundred.

The right-handed batter decimated the Dutch bowlers to bring up a 40-ball hundred.

He finished at a 44-ball 106 that featured nine boundaries and eight sixes.

Glenn Maxwell also became the first batter in ODI history to score a century after having faced the first ball after the 40th over.

READ: Quinton de Kock sets unique records with New Zealand ton

Glenn Maxwell admitted he “wasn’t expecting” to hit a record 40-ball World Cup century in Australia’s ICC World Cup 2023 fixture against the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Glenn Maxwell, nicknamed ‘The Big Show’ for his flamboyant hitting, clubbed eight fours and eight sixes in his run blitz as Australia piled up 399-8 against the Netherlands in New Delhi.

The stunning assault bettered the record of South Africa’s Aiden Markram who blasted a century off 49 balls against Sri Lanka at the same venue 18 days ago.

“It feels pretty good. I have been pretty cooked today so I wasn’t expecting much but it probably cleared my head a little bit to be able to go out there and play,” said Maxwell.

It was also the fourth-fastest century in all ODIs.

South Africa’s AB de Villiers leads the way with his 31-ball century against the West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015.

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New Zealander Corey Anderson reached three figures off 36 balls against the West Indies at Queenstown in 2014 while Shahid Afridi of Pakistan made a century from 37 deliveries facing Sri Lanka in Nairobi back in 1996.

Glenn Maxwell, 35, playing in his 133rd ODI, was eventually out for 104, just short of his career-best 108 made against England in Manchester in 2020.

It was also comfortably his best score of this World Cup — his highest before Wednesday was 31 not out against Sri Lanka in Lucknow.

“I was just trying to get a read on the bowlers because I felt like I had enough time to change and adapt. Generally I am just trying to get any reverse sweeps over the infield.

“I thought the Netherlands were outstanding. It felt like they saved some certain boundaries in the first 25-30 overs.

He added: “It is a rock hard outfield. The ball can travel around here so if you get early wickets and get into the middle order, you can put run-rate pressure on them.”

READ: Glenn Maxwell smashes fastest World Cup century

DELHI: Australia’s hard-hitting batter Glenn Maxwell on Wednesday, rewrote history as he struck the fastest World Cup century in his side’s ICC World Cup 2023 fixture against Netherlands.

Maxwell smashed the fastest World Cup century, conceding just 40 deliveries to achieve the milestone.

He finished at a 44-ball 106 that featured nine boundaries and eight sixes.

Glenn Maxwell is the first batter in ODI history to score a century after having faced the first ball after the 40th over.

The right-handed all-rounder went after his Dutch counterpart Bas de Leede and played a pivotal role in pushing the latter to register the worst bowling figures in ODI cricket.

Coming out to bat at number six when Australia were 266/4 in the 39th over, Glenn Maxwell batted sensibly in the early phase of his sensational knock before switching gears.

He baton-charged the Dutch bowlers with belligerent hitting, the highlight of which was the 28-run 49th over, bowled by Bas de Leede.

For the unversed, the previous record was held by South Africa’s Aiden Markram. He scored his century in just 49 balls against Sri Lanka at the same venue in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

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Prior to that, Australia had a shaky start after winning the toss as they lost Mitchell Marsh in the fourth over at a meagre total of 28.

However, David Warner, fresh from his 163 off 124 against Pakistan, joined hands with Steve Smith and knitted a solid 132-run stand for the second wicket.

Both batters completed their fifties during the partnership before Aryan Dutt sent Smith back to the pavilion.

Smith scored a 68-ball 71, with the help of nine boundaries and one six.

David Warner, played an anchor role during his 84-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne, dominated by the latter, who scored 62 in 47 deliveries.

Labuschagne’s 47-ball 62 featured seven boundaries and two sixes before he was caught in an attempt to clear mid-on off Bas de Leede.

Meanwhile, David Warned completed his 22nd and second consecutive ODI century in 91 balls but got out two balls later leaving Australia to 267-5 in the 40th over.

Meanwhile, captain Pat Cummins stayed with Maxwell on the other end of the partnership dominated by Maxwell’s onslaught. Cummins scored a mere 8 runs in the partnership of 103.

Glenn Maxwell’s 44-ball knock came to an end in the final over, before Cummins hit the last ball for four to end the Australian innings at 399.

READ: Bas de Leede registers worst bowling figures in ODIs

Glenn Maxwell returned career-best figures of 4-40 to end Australia’s five-match losing streak with a consolation 66-run win over India in the third one-day international on Wednesday.

Mitchell Marsh led the batting onslaught with his 96 as Australia posted 352-7, a total their bowlers defended by bowling out India for 286 in Rajkot.

The hosts took the three-match series 2-1 but Australia finish on a high ahead of the ODI World Cup starting October 5 in India.

Maxwell, who returned to the team alongside Mitchell Starc after the two players recovered from their injuries, scored just five with the bat but made an impact with his impressive off-spin.

Glenn Maxwell got the first three wickets including skipper Rohit Sharma, for 81, and star batsman Virat Kohli, for 56, after a brisk start by India.

Rohit raised his fifty in 31 balls and seemed to have the chase in control but Maxwell got the captain with a stunning caught and bowled in his second over.

He then sent back Kohli soon after the former captain’s 66th ODI fifty and, despite a fighting 48 by Shreyas Iyer, the Indian batting folded in 49.4 overs.

Pace bowler Josh Hazlewood took two wickets as Australia ended the losing streak which started in South Africa earlier this month.

Batsmen set up victory after Marsh tore into the Indian bowlers in attacking partnerships that included a second-wicket stand of 137 with Steve Smith, who hit 74.

The top four batsmen stood out with Marsh, David Warner (56), Smith and Marnus Labuschagne (72) all contributing to a mammoth total that looked like going beyond 400 before India hit back.

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav took two.

Marsh took on Bumrah with three boundaries and a six in the paceman’s first two overs and the left-handed Warner soon joined in the charge.

Warner hammered Prasidh Krishna for three fours and a six in the seventh over and raced to his fifty in 32 balls in the next with another hit over the fence.

Marsh reached his half-ton in 45 balls but was denied a century when he casually slapped Kuldeep straight to cover. His 84-ball knock included 13 fours and three sixes.

Smith, Alex Carey and Maxwell fell at regular intervals, slowing the tourists down before Labuschagne took control until he was undone by Bumrah’s slower ball in the penultimate over.

The two teams now head into the World Cup warm-ups before they meet in the 50-over showpiece tournament on October 8 in Chennai.

READ: Pakistan team steps foot in India for ICC World Cup 2023