Overcoming an attack of full-body cramping, Glenn Maxwell’s outrageous double-century to beat Afghanistan at the Cricket World Cup was quickly hailed as the greatest one-day international (ODI) innings of all-time by cricketing luminaries.
Yet for the Australian all-rounder, it was just “great fun.”
Maxwell on Tuesday smashed an unbeaten 201 off 128 balls in Mumbai, India, single-handedly guiding Australia to an improbable three-wicket win that sealed their spot in the semi-finals.
Photo: AFP
“It was great fun. It just felt like it was me and Patty [Cummins] just having fun out there,” he told reporters of the partnership with his captain, having come together at 91-7.
“We were keeping each other pretty calm with jokes most of the time. When he first came out, he goes: ‘Don’t worry, they’re four overs down, they’re going to have an extra fielder in for the last four overs,’” Maxwell said. “We just tried to keep the mood nice and light. Obviously, it wasn’t an ideal situation, but we just tried to relax each other as much as we could.”
Australia’s first double-century maker in ODIs, Maxwell also became the first anywhere to reach 200 during an ODI chase.
He became the third player to score 200 at a World Cup, following Chris Gayle’s 219 against Zimbabwe in 2015 and Martin Guptill’s 237 not out against West Indies in 2015.
Cummins declared Maxwell’s knock “the greatest ODI innings” and plenty agreed, including former England captain Michael Vaughan and Australia’s past master-blaster Adam Gilchrist.
Former India all-rounder and cricket analyst Irfan Pathan went a step further, calling it the “best ever white-ball inning” on social media.
Maxwell’s night looked over when on 147 he slumped to the ground after taking a single. Cramped up in both legs, he also experienced a back spasm while lying down.
There was talk of retiring from his innings and possibly returning, but medical staff said that coming down the stairs to return to the crease might prove impossible.
So he elected to plow on and rely mostly on his reflexes and hands to smash anything in the zone.
“So that probably made the job a bit more simple,” he said. “It wasn’t all just, like, chaotic swinging but there was a bit of planning to it.”
The 35-year-old Melbourne man has produced plenty of incredible moments through a roller-coaster career but the World Cup has seen “peak Maxwell.”
Coming back from an ankle injury, he played the second spinner role to perfection in the early matches then blasted the fastest World Cup century against the Netherlands when he raced to his century in 40 balls.
He then suffered a concussion after falling off the back of a golf cart, missing the game against England before slotting back in to face Afghanistan.
Before limping off for more recovery, Maxwell joked that all the drama had happened since his family had joined him in India.
“It’s been a weird, weird couple of weeks... To be in the semi-finals is a great feeling. Hopefully, we enjoy a few days in Pune,” he said. “I’ll stay away from the golf carts.”
Australia play their last group stage match against Bangladesh in Pune on Saturday.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS