Australia Willing to Live with Highs and Lows of Glenn Maxwell's Daring Game
Before he'd even played a single game in any format in his nation's colours, Glenn Maxwell insisted that the international stage wouldn't change him.
"I won't change too much when I play for Australia," the all-rounder told Brydon Coverdale of ESPN Cricinfo back in August 2012, 10 days prior to his debut in a one-day international against Afghanistan in the UAE.
For the most part, Maxwell has stuck to that statement since, playing with a defiant flamboyance that has amazed and infuriated in equal measure. Just a year after that debut, the The Age's Jesse Hogan, in a piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald (part of the Fairfax Media brand) wrote to the title, "'Unchanged' Maxwell hits on winning formula" after an interview with the Victorian.
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Such a title pretty much sums it up; Maxwell has stuck to his guns despite oscillating results.
Rampaging displays of hitting have been mixed with exhibitions of what some may label lunacy. Crunching blows often interspersed by needless bouts of audacity. A confidence often replaced by a certain arrogance.
It's seen the 26-year-old become a polarising figure: To some, he's a leader in the game's rapid limited-overs evolution; for others, he's a silly sideshow.
Whatever your opinion, though, Australia, and the team's selectors, have shown they're prepared to live with the results. They've shown the highs and lows are a tolerable consequence of what he brings to the current Australian outfit.
It's been evident all summer—a summer that began with South Africa's eight-match limited-overs tour of Australia in November.
At any point, Maxwell could have been dumped from his nation's 50-over side. His form of early 2014 had deserted him. His calculated risks appeared to be sliding toward reckless gambles. And the label once given to him, "The Big Show" (a label he admittedly "hates"), had cynically been changed to "The No Show."
On the back of his highly criticised Test performance against Pakistan in the UAE, it all looked to be unravelling for the dashing right-hander ahead of the World Cup on home soil.
His six innings against South Africa read: zero, 23, 29, zero, two and seven. Just 61 runs at an average of 10.17.
Strong in the memory of many will be his skied heave in the Twenty20 in Sydney that came just minutes after telling Channel Nine's commentary team (he was wearing a microphone while batting) that he planned to take a somewhat more conservative approach.
Before Sunday's final against England in Perth, the tri-series hadn't been a lot better for Australia's most volatile cricketer. He started with a second-ball duck in Sydney, before a pair of unfulfilled starts of 20 and 37 in Melbourne and Hobart.
Though already selected into the World Cup squad, there was a feeling he was moving toward the periphery of the XI with the global tournament looming. With Steven Smith surging, and Michael Clarke possibly returning, there was a view that Maxwell might have eventually become the one who would be left out.
Yet, even if many watching on had lost all faith, Australia's selectors haven't wavered. At all. Maxwell has been picked again and again and again.
The reason why was there for all to see at the WACA Ground on Sunday.
When it comes off, when his daring game flourishes rather than fails, Australia can win from anywhere. And by staggering margins.
Against England, the hosts, at one point, were 60-4. They won by 112 runs, with Maxwell thumping 95.
Australia know the odds with the polarising batsman and are prepared to play them.
Interestingly, the right-hander's innings on Sunday contained a watchful period in its opening phase—it took him 18 balls to collect his first five runs.
But from that point onward, it was the Maxwell we all know. The all-guns-stuck-with-the-trigger-on Maxwell. Two fours from the bowling of Steven Finn in the 19th over got him going. Two more from Finn's next over ramped it up again.
The reverse sweeps came out. Seven of them, in fact. The tennis-style slaps were on show. The jumps down the wicket were prevalent. Inside-out blasts over cover were in full flow.
Each and every one was greeted with an exuberant cheer, the crowd celebrating his dashing exploits. On another day, a chorus of groans would have been heard.
The watching public needs to learn to live with the odds, the highs and lows of Maxwell's approach. Because Australia's selectors have already shown they're willing to do so.
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