Glenn Maxwell’s former captain and long-time friend Aaron Finch is adamant the star all-rounder is doing everything he can to “stay on the park as long as possible” in the wake of the Adelaide incident that led to him being hospitalised.
Asked on Monday, as he turned up with Finch and another former captain Ricky Ponting at a golf promotion in Melbourne, Maxwell said he was “all good” without expanding on the incident or the fallout.
It was after a golf day in Adelaide on January 19 when the combination of a few too many drinks and dehydration resulted in Maxwell waking up in an ambulance after teammates with him at a hotel couldn’t wake him up.
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Amid the fallout, Australian captain Pat Cummins suggested Maxwell, who was rested from the ODI series currently being played, could examine his behaviour after a recent suite of incidents included him missing a game at the World Cup in India after falling off a golf cart and suffering concussion.
“We’re all adults and part of being an adult is you make your own decisions,” Cummins said.
“In terms of this incident he wasn’t on tour with Australia, he was over there for a private event, so he wasn’t with the cricket team, so it is a little bit different, but absolutely, any decision you make you’ve got to own it and be comfortable with it.”
Maxwell hasn’t addressed the incident, opting against interview requests at both the Allan Border Medal night last Wednesday and again on Monday.
He will return to action for Australia in the three-match T20 series against the West Indies that begins on Friday in Hobart and Finch said while the incident was “not ideal”, Maxwell had been doing everything possible to ensure he’s part of the Australian white-balls teams for a long time to come.
“He seems in really good spirits,” Finch said before also taking part in the Callaway promotion in Melbourne,
“No, this wasn’t ideal timing for him and it was tough on him, but he’s got a tight network around him that helped him out a lot and I think it would have been a good time to reflect on it too.
“I think what we’ve seen over the last probably three years is the best of Glenn Maxwell on the field. And that’s because he’s got his body right. And then obviously the broken leg that was not ideal.
“And I think over the next couple of years, we’ll still see the best of him.
“So that’ll be that’ll be a part of it, making sure that his body stays healthy and he does everything right to make sure that he stays on the park as long as possible.”
Maxwell was not punished by Cricket Australia following the incident, with selection chief George Bailey also adamant it had nothing to do with him missing the ODI series, which was part of his ongoing workload management.
