Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell scored a record-breaking century in the second T20I against the West Indies. Maxwell showed why he is still the most dangerous batsman in the world smashing the bowler all across the park and scoring 120* runs off 55 deliveries. With his fifth century, he now equals Rohit Sharma for the most T20I centuries. Everything was not well with Maxwell until the lead up to the T20I series.
The 35-year-old ended up in a hospital after he was out drinking and watching a concert by Brett Lee’s band ‘Six and Out’. Maxwell lost consciousness and had to be sent in an ambulance where he was admitted overnight before he was presumably out of danger.
Cricket Australia investigated the issue and Maxwell had to sit out of the ODI series against West Indies. Coach Andrew McDonald had stated that Maxwell had to look after himself. He also received flak from the Australian captain Pat Cummins and former cricketer Michael Clarke.
In a post match interview with the ‘Australian Associated Press’, Maxwell opened up about the ‘drunk’ episode. He told that his family was more affected than him with the whole fiasco.
“I believe it may have impacted my family more than me. I was aware of my week off, and the incident happened at an inconvenient time,” he said.
Maxwell was focussed and preparing hard for the T20I series against the Windies.
“I returned, resumed my running and gym routine, and felt rejuvenated. My focus has been on preparing myself for the upcoming T20 series. We have a couple more games before we head into the T20 World Cup,” he added.
Maxwell then stated that he had moved on pretty quickly from whole incident.
“I moved on swiftly. I returned to training on Monday and felt fine. The coach, Bails, and everyone else have been incredibly supportive,” he said.
Reflecting on his record century, Maxwell said that he was sure about scoring big with the bat.
“I woke up today with an unusual sensation, which doesn’t happen often, especially when batting in the middle order. After closely observing West Indies’ bowling in the last game in Hobart, I felt confident in understanding their tactics. Despite feeling disappointed to face a similar scenario – short square boundaries on a similar pitch – I realized I couldn’t let this opportunity pass again,” he said.
“When I arrived at Adelaide Oval, I had a hunch that someone would score a hundred tonight. Waking up this morning, I had a strong feeling it would be me. However, it still required the right timing and opportunity, and the conditions turned out to be perfect,” he concluded.
