Glenn Maxwell returned to Adelaide for the first time since his misadventures in January: this time it was the West Indies bowlers in need of an ambulance.
With a typically impudent century to seal a series win for Australia, Maxwell underlined the exceptional rarity of his talents. At the tail end of summer, he was finally able to replicate something like his unforgettable World Cup exploits for a home crowd of 19,891 in a 34-run victory.
Glenn Maxwell’s switch hit was just one highlight of an incredible knock.Credit: Fox Cricket
“Home crowd” was still more apt for Maxwell than usual. Among the thousands in attendance were Maxwell’s parents, Neil and Joy, who flew over from Melbourne for the evening. As teammate Spencer Johnson revealed, Maxwell predicted pre-game that he would make a century.
There was evident frustration and expectation as Maxwell bellowed “No!” on several occasions when he was unable to find the gaps early on.
But after spending six balls over his first four runs, Maxwell found his range with a slog sweep. That six unleashed a veritable starburst of shots, most of them showcasing Maxwell’s wondrous combination of wrists and hip rotation to clear the boundary eight times.
Consequently, the personal commentary became more jovial, complimenting Alzarri Joseph on a precision yorker, and there were plenty of laughs as well as grimaces as the innings went from quirky, to very good, to great.
Maxwell has now made a quintet of T20 international hundreds, equalling the mark of Rohit Sharma, and the Adelaide effort was second only to his freakish display when opening in Kandy in 2016 in terms of scoring rate. It resulted in Australia’s highest team tally in the format on these shores – and that after an iffy start.
Glenn Maxwell celebrates his century.Credit: Getty
The West Indian pacemen found some early swing, and the combination of smart lines and fields had the Australian innings stuttering at 3-64 in the eighth over after Rovman Powell sent them in.
Like a reprise of his double century against Afghanistan in Mumbai, Maxwell got started with that wristy slog sweep for six off the left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, but it was to be his handling of West Indian speed that made the innings a special one.
Andre Russell felt most of the heat, disappearing for 59 from four overs, as Maxwell peppered the boundaries at cover and wide long on.
A few shots deserved to be singled out. A cover driven six off Romario Shepherd was made possible by a collapsed back knee and perfectly poised wrists; a switch-hit off Hosein disappeared with more power than most left-handers could muster; and a pinpoint near yorker from Russell was skewed to the backward point boundary with precision geometry worthy of NASA.
Maxwell benefited from a pair of contrasting partnerships, although he dominated the scoring in each. Marcus Stoinis battled for timing throughout, but the resultant flurry of singles kept Maxwell on strike.
When Stoinis fell, Tim David only faced 14 balls but clattered 31 runs from them to ensure that Maxwell did not feel pressure to do too much – boundaries still flowed freely enough to ensure a total near enough to 250.
After his innings, Maxwell noted that some previous Adelaide visits by his parents had not gone so well – one was cruelled by his broken leg in late 2022.
“It was good fun,” Maxwell told Fox Cricket. “Just gave myself a chance. It’s a really nice wicket. Nice to cash in and spend most of the time out there. I’ve always relied on my hand speed to get me out of trouble … and it really seemed to work for me today.
“I’ve had a few cursed Adelaide trips … so it’s nice to make this a positive one.”
Confronted with such a huge target, the West Indian response was ornery to begin with. Nic Pooran clunked a trio of sixes off the bowling of Jason Behrendorff – Australia’s reigning T20 player of the year – before Johnson’s first home international ushered a clatter of wickets. Russell, then Powell, kept pace with Maxwell for a time, but neither could sustain it.
The game lingered into its final over after an interlude when the last wicket should have fallen. Johnson took the stumps to complete a run out, but there was no appeal in the opinion of the umpire Gerald Abood – something disputed by David after the big screen showed last man Joseph out of his ground. Captain Mitchell Marsh was required to calm David down.
Maxwell’s big night at the end of the Adelaide Test, encompassing a golf day and a Six and Out gig at the Governor Hindmarsh before he woke up on the way to hospital for dehydration, had been a source of embarrassment for the 35-year-old.
But this evening’s spectacular, in which his otherworldly skill and heart-on-the-sleeve emotions melded so beautifully, showed why Maxwell is so valued, even loved, by teammates. Late nights and all.
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