Glenn Maxwell dropped Dewald Brevis once. He wasn’t going to do it again.
I say ‘drop’ because when it’s Maxwell you feel he always has a chance. Oftentimes great fielders create chances out of nothing but on this occasion, it was a genuine drop. Initially making good ground to his left, he hesitated, the chance to go at with two hands gone, and so was the catch. Brevis was on 9.
But when the second chance came around, there was no hesitation. There was cold blooded execution making another difficult chance look fairly routine. Because that’s what Maxwell does. He turns the extraordinary into the ordinary.
Dewald Brevis was on 56—striking at over 200—yet again threatening to pummel Australia out of the game just as he had done in Darwin a couple of nights before. He was forced to trudge off, outdone by a little bit of Maxwell brilliance.
The Big Show’s impact wasn’t just out on the boundary. With the ball in hand, he returned 2 overs for just 15 — numbers that look good on paper but feel even better once you place them in context. Maxwell’s first over came off the back of Brevis and Stubbs taking 13 off Josh Hazlewood.
Marsh elected to turn to Maxwell with two of the Proteas’ most destructive batsmen at the crease, both of them also right handers. 6 balls later, Brevis and Stubbs only managed to prise out 6 runs. The right arm off spin should have been the match up the South African’s could target but Maxwell walked away wrestling back a little more momentum for his team.
First, with the ball and in the field he helped shackle South Africa to 172. Then, with the chase wobbling, he was the man Australia turned to with bat in hand,
Instead of controlling the chase as teams often have done in T20 cricket Australia stuck to their guns and tried to blast South Africa out of the game. This landed them in a spot of bother when Maxwell came out to crease, Australia were 88/4. Mitch Marsh and Cameron Green having both picked out deep square leg and midwicket respectively in the same Maphaka over.
Australia slumped further to 122/6 at the end of the 14th, again losing two in the over, this time to Rabada. The chase now solely resting on Maxwell’s bat. In the next four overs Maxwell faced 22 of the 24 deliveries. 35 runs coming off his bat alone and again thanks to Glenn Maxwell, Australia had the game in the palm of their hands.
12 balls remaining, and 12 runs required. Walk in the park.
However, South Africa wasn’t quite finished yet. With Maxwell off strike for the 19th over, Corbin Bosch took 2 wickets and conceded just 2 off the over. At one point, he was on a hat-trick. Zampa was tasked with keeping out the full and straight one, while Maxwell was stranded at the other end. Australia were now 10 runs away with only 2 wickets in hand.
But it was Maxwell on strike for the last. 4 required off 2. Ngidi missed his length. Maxwell didn’t. In true showman style reverses swatted Ngidi’s full toss towards to fine leg boundary. The show is over.
Maxwell’s brilliance in T20i chases is reflected in his record.
What the numbers show is clear. When Australia chase down targets in T20 cricket, Maxwell is often right in the thick of things. His strike rate and average surge which demonstrates that if Australia is to get over the line, Maxwell is likely to have played a part.
Of course, your numbers will be skewed in victories, as is the nature of these statistics. However, with Maxwell, you feel he doesn’t ride the wave of his team’s performance. He is the wave itself.
Next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka seems to be the likely place for the Big Show’s final curtain.
Despite having retired from ODI’s Maxwell’s age makes him uncertain to feature in the 2028 edition co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. For Australia to go deep in that tournament and claim their second T20 crown, you’d think Maxwell will be instrumental.
There will be moments when Maxwell will frustrate. Moments where he will madden. But there will also be moments where he does what so few others can.
James Clerk Maxwell’s equations in Physics represent one of the most concise ways to represent the fundamentals of electricity and magnetism. With Glenn Maxwell, he seems to bend Physics to his will, fusing together the fundamentals of cricket. Batting. Bowling. Fielding. All in the one package.
Glenn Maxwell, whether in the field, or with ball or bat in hand, creates his own equations. These ones aren’t found in textbooks instead they are found on the cricket field, winning games.
About the Author: Moosa Niazi
Brisbane kid who’s chasing narratives. Cricket, F1 and everywhere in between, trying to justify the hours lost watching them.