I feel like I haven’t hit the ball better in my career: Glenn Maxwell

The Australian team has done really well in the World Cup 2019 so far. Though they’re the defending champions this performance to qualify into the semi-finals as table toppers most would term as a punch heavier than their weight. It wasn’t quite the scenario one could forecast for the struggling side even a few months ago. What has changed is their batting and the heavy top order’s consistency.

The big names – David Warner, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith – who walk out at the start of the innings have had such a prevailing impact that someone like Glenn Maxwell has seldom had the opportunities to go out there and strike. In the 8 matches Australia have played so far, the all-rounder has scored 143 runs and has only been in the middle for 75 balls. His strike rate as expected has been on the higher side at 190, but a lot more is expected of Maxwell.

Maxwell feels nice and relaxed

His highest score so far is an unbeaten 46 against Sri Lanka and there are a couple of 20s and 30s where he failed to convert on the starts. Maxwell, however, thinks he is in a really good place right now. “I feel like I haven’t hit the ball better in my career, I just haven’t got runs,” the all-rounder said while interacting with the media ahead of Australia’s last league game against South Africa.

“It’s nice to be relaxed when I go out in the middle. Runs just haven’t come the way I would have liked, but I don’t think they’re far away. If I was out of form and out of runs, I think I’d be a little more nervous. It’s about not over-complicating it and not reinventing the wheel at training. I’ve stuck to the way I’ve gone about my training … and making sure you’re not clouding your head even further,” the 30-year-old added.

There is a sense of maturity now

He has had his share of highs and lows, Maxwell thus believes he has matured as a cricketer now and focuses more on the process. This has helped him not be bothered about the runs he has scored or not, understanding how to handle such situations is embedded into him now.

“It is a bit of maturity and growth and trust in my preparation. I think I would have been searching for something a couple of years ago, whereas now when I go out to bat I have been doing the right things and training the right way,” said Maxwell.

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“To trust going in without a lot of runs behind you does take a few years to learn from that and grow from that.

“You might not get the time out in the middle like the top order does. But when you go get out there you’ve got to make the most of it. To have the faith the selectors have had in me to be here and be the sole spinning allrounder in the squad is nice,” the cricketer stated.