NEWS
Follow UsThe 2024 ICC T20 World Cup is yet to witness a ‘Glenn Maxwell special’, 22 days into the competition, but the all-rounder said ahead of Australia’s Afghanistan clash that he gained a lot of confidence from the ‘slow’ knock against England, where he amassed 28 off 25 balls on a two-paced wicket.
Maxwell is Australia’s x-factor, but the 35-year-old is still rebuilding his confidence on the back of a horror Indian Premier League (IPL) season, where he finished IPL 2024 with 52 runs at an average of 5.78.
Ahead of the Afghanistan game, the right-hander opened up on his IPL 2024 struggles, and spoke about why the England knock gave him a lot of confidence and satisfaction.
“I think I said in another interview the other day, I got a lot of confidence out of the England innings, how I was able to sort of, I suppose, get my way through that slightly tricky period with Mitch on a wicket that, as I said, it wasn't a 12 an over pitch at the time,” Maxwell said ahead of the Afghanistan clash.
“And I reckon during the IPL I was probably getting sucked into, that's the rate we've got to go and we've got to keep going. And I was trying to push on that without playing the way I get myself into the game.
“And yeah, I think I was proud I was able to get myself in, give myself a chance, and set the platform up for the back end and really control those middle overs. And you need a really good partner to be doing the same sort of thing at the other end. And Mitch did that as well. He would have gained a lot of confidence from that innings.”
The Kangaroos’ clash against Bangladesh turned out to be a rain-curtailed one, but in the six balls he faced, Maxwell looked at his sublime best as he got to 14*, connecting two clean hits.
One of the two boundaries was a clean hit straight down the ground, and Maxwell said he is pleased to see him go back to simplifying his game, something he feels he did not do during the IPL.
“Yeah, I think tonight I just went in with a really clear mindset to sort of be a little bit more proactive and a bit more trusting I suppose in my foundations and what I do really well,” Maxwell said, speaking of his cameo against Bangladesh.
“I know I reverse well; I know I play spin well when I'm busy on my feet and moving forward and back and when I'm just looking at gaps in the field and adapting to what comes in front of me, I can get into my innings relatively comfortably.
“I think I've, even just thinking back, I feel like I might have even got sucked into a little bit of the pace of play during the IPL where you're sort of set up as a power hitter.
“And that's all your sort of focus goes towards and you're thinking more about hidden boundaries every ball instead of still playing your strengths and tonight sort of went back to I suppose what I do really well is start my innings with good cricketing shots, back my ability to manipulate fields and try and stick to that.”
Against Bangladesh, the 35-year-old also chipped in with the ball, picking the crucial wicket of the dangerous Rishad Hosssain, who was promoted and asked to tonk a few balls.
The off-spinner is slowly starting to get into the tournament with the ball in hand, with him picking two crucial wickets against Scotland and then following it up with figures of 2-0-14-1 against Bangladesh.
Surfaces could start turning more, going forward, but Maxwell believes he is not the kind of bowler that needs any aid from the pitch.
“Yeah, I don't think with the way I bowl I generally need a whole heap of help,” the off-spinner said.
“My length is probably more dictated to by the conditions, whether it's skidding, whether it's holding. So, I suppose it's just trying to find that right pace balance, right seam angles, whatever it might be. A few more square spinners if it's spinning bigger.
“I suppose it's just about me trying to read the conditions as quickly as I can and then trying to adapt to that but yeah, I'm not too fazed whether it's spinning big or not spinning at all.”
Thus far, Australia have largely played in Barbados and Antigua, but the Afghanistan clash will see them play for the first time in St. Vincent before moving to St. Lucia for the clash against India. Should Australia make it all the way to the final, then they’ll be playing across four different venues in as many games.
It won’t be easy, but Maxwell believes that, going forward in this T20WC, adaptability will be key for not just the Kangaroos, but every side in the competition.
“It feels like every ground has its different little idiosyncrasies. This is a slow outfield with a howling breeze to a short boundary. Barbados can be 50-50 on the wicket, can be slow. As we've seen, St. Vincent is going to be spinny and might be a slightly quicker outfield. So, there's so many different changes.
“It feels like you're going to a completely different part of the world. Every ground that you go to and you've got to adapt and change. I think that's just the way our team's gone.
“It feels like we've been the quickest ones to adapt to the conditions throughout the tournament. I'm sure that's going to probably hold true for the last few games. The team that adapts the quickest will come out victorious.”
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