"It's a bit weird that I had to calm myself...": Glenn Maxwell speaks on his 106-run knock against Netherlands
Oct 25, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 25 : After Australia clinched a stunning 309-run win against the Netherlands in the 24th match of the ODI World Cup 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, star allrounder Glenn Maxwell said that it was a bit weird, he had to calm himself down for the first 20 oddballs and rebuild.
While speaking at the pre-match press conference, Maxwell said that the circumstances and the timings of the wickets have changed the way he would have gone.
Maxwell added that he was just hitting the ball flat through the gap and picked the spots pretty clearly.
The Aussie allrounder added that it was only the back end where I tried to just pump everything.
"It's a bit weird that I had to calm myself down for the first 20 oddballs and rebuild. I think the circumstances of, I suppose, the timing of the wickets probably changed the way I would have gone about it if it was just me and Davey at the back end. I felt like I was just super selective. Even with the boundaries I was hitting, until I got to about 50 or 60, I was literally hitting them flat through the gap or picking my spots pretty clearly where I wanted to go and it was only the back end where I tried to just pump everything," Maxwell said.
While talking about the inning against Netherlands, Maxwell said that he played a lot of games in India which helped him to score the fastest century at the ODI World Cup.
He also added that he is not too worried about people saying that he hasn't made runs in ODI cricket because it doesn't really matter.
The star Aussie player added that he came to this tournament with full confidence and even started well in the practice matches with a good 70-run knock against Pakistan.
"I think the fact that I've made runs in India during the IPL pretty regularly over the last couple of years, so I'm not too worried about people saying that I haven't made runs in ODI cricket because it doesn't really matter, especially my role in one-day cricket. It's so similar to T20, so I just draw on those experiences, knowing that if I do get it right on the day, hopefully, my team will be winning. Having had a bit of success this year in India during the IPL, I've come to India during this World Cup full of confidence and even started well in the practice games with a good 70 against Pakistan," he added.
"People talk about my last 20 one-day games but they're spaced out over 6 years over different continents all over the place and one game at a time every four months, so there's not really much you can sort of go by," he added.
Coming to the match, Australia opted to bat first and scored 399/8 in just 50 overs. Maxwell (106) and David Warner (104 in 93 balls with 11 fours and three sixes) led the onslaught with their centuries.
Steve Smith (71 in 68 balls, with nine fours and six) and Marnus Labuschagne (62 in 47 balls with seven fours and two sixes), who smashed half-centuries.
Logan van Beek (4/74) and Bas de Leede (2/115) were among the pick of the bowlers for the Netherlands.
In the run-chase inning, Adam Zampa bagged four wickets and Mitchell Marsh scalped two wickets in their respective spells to stop Netherlands at 90 runs to seal a stellar win.
Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins took one wicket each.
On the other hand, no Dutch batsman could score more than 25 runs.
Glenn Maxwell was named the Player of the Match after his 106-run knock from 44 balls.
