Glenn Maxwell has revealed the fallout from an incident in Adelaide which ended with him in hospital impacted his family more than it did him but a week away helped him refocus enough to deliver an innings for the ages in the same city.
Returning to the scene of the big day out which had Test captain Pat Cummins suggesting Maxwell had to “own” his mistakes, the white-ball dynamo conceded it was “not ideal” to pass out in front of teammates as the effects of too much alcohol in the Adelaide heat at a golf promotion combined.
He even said he’d had some “cursed Adelaide trips” after smashing a record-setting 120 runs from 55 balls, including eight towering sixes and 12 fours in a record score team of 4-241 against the West Indies to guide his team to a 34-run victory against the West Indies on Sunday night.
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The 35-year-old blasted a half-century from 26 balls and reached triple figures off just 50 deliveries to notch the fastest T20I century recorded in Australia, the fifth of his international career, and drew level with India’s Rohit Sharma with the most T20 international centuries.
It was a stark contrast to his last trip to the City of Churches and having not spoken about waking up in an ambulance on the way to Royal Adelaide Hospital, he revealed how it impacted himself and his family.
“I’ve had a few cursed Adelaide trips … so it’s nice to make this a positive one,” Maxwell told Fox Cricket.
The Victorian, who was rested for the ODI series against the West Indies, was not sanctioned by Cricket Australia over the incident.
“I think it probably affected my family a little bit more than it affected me,” Maxwell said.
“I was back into training, I was still thinking about this T20 series, and the New Zealand tour.
“I was pretty focused on what I had to do.
“Obviously, that incident was less than ideal with the timing, but I had that week off away from the game.
“I came back and got back into my running, my gym program, and I felt really good and refreshed once I got back.”
Maxwell said amid the fallout that Australian coach Andrew McDonald and national selection chief George Bailey has been “outstanding” as his life away form the field was put under the spotlight.
In November 2022, Maxwell broke a leg when he slipped while pretending to chase a friend at a birthday party, which forced him to miss Australia’s Test squad to tour India and to miss an entire BBL season.
But he said he wasn’t dwelling on what happened, or the questions being asked.
“No, I just moved on pretty quickly. I was back in training on the Monday so I was pretty good,” he said.
Good enough to belt an innings South Australian quick Spencer Johnson said Maxwell had informed teammates was coming before the match.
“I woke up (that) morning and I just had a funny feeling,” Maxwell said.
“I don’t get it very often.
“I got a good look at their attack last game in Hobart, felt like I got a good read of what they were bowling, and was disappointed getting out there (for 10).
“I just thought, ‘I can’t let this opportunity slip’.
“The timing was perfect.”
West Indies skipper Rovman Powell admitted he felt “powerless” in the face of Maxwell’s onslaught.
Maxwell struggled to explain exactly how it felt to find himself ‘in the zone’ after a scratchy start where he scored four runs from his first five deliveries and was lucky not to be run out on 10.
“I was really focused,” he said.
“I was pretty calm and just really clear, it felt like it, the whole way through the innings.
“I made a few mistakes early in the innings when I felt I got balls I could hit for boundaries and didn’t quite place, probably tried to overplay the ball.
“And once I hit the gaps and hit a couple out of the middle, I was able to manipulate the field as much as I possibly could.
“I just gave myself a really good platform, which is the recipe I have been trying to give myself as much as I possibly can at international level.”
The series concludes at Perth Stadium on Tuesday night.
