Glenn Maxwell hit a stunning 95 off 43 balls in the Indian Premier League the other day. My initial reaction, like some of his previous successes, was to brace myself for the backlash from those in the cricketing public who suffer from tall poppy syndrome.
Despite his obvious profound talent, Maxwell confusingly seems to be one of the most divisive players in world cricket.
Nearly every horrified cricket purist seems to have an argument as to why his career is eventually going to be dramatically snuffed out.
I want to boldly predict now, he’s going to become a regular Test selection.
Much of the objections to ‘The Big Show’, a moniker that was actually given to him by Victorian teammate Matthew Wade, seems to be directed at his brash innovation and apparent arrogance when he takes the field.
Maxwell often seems to slash at balls with the leverage of Happy Gilmore and the casual façade of a fourth-grade club cricketer.
At times he has appeared to be lured into the psychological battle for alpha male with a bowler, rather than winning a match or posting a big total.
He’s at times reversed swept a bowler to the boundary from three consecutive balls to simply prove his dominance, then while trying it for a fourth time has been stupidly dismissed.
Before we all shake our heads at his immaturity, let’s remember this concept of playing alpha games within a game of cricket has been going on forever. I actually love this X-factor element to cricket.
When Sir Garfield Sobers, Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in an over, they weren’t necessarily giving full regard to their wicket or even ensuring they post a big total for their side.
Instead, what could be better than totally humiliating a bowler with six big ones over the rope?
A young and brave Adam Gilchrist blasted 77 off 88 balls in his ODI debut before he even played a Test and managed to hit Allan Donald for a huge six.
Donald famously said to him, “Where the hell is the respect in this game?”
Maxwell often fits this category. He also sometimes reminds me of a young Steve Waugh.
Waugh was actually told off once by the great Barry Richards in a junior cricket clinic because he continually smashed every bowler out of the nets. To a thirteen-year-old Waugh, there was nothing better to do in the game of cricket.
Richards frankly told him that if he was to continue doing that he should give-up the game altogether.
Years later playing for Australia, a still very young Waugh had the hide to bowl bouncers at Sir Viv Richards and the crowd loved him for it.
I just wonder if Maxwell is a player in the mould of Waugh, who could harness the same grit, stubbornness and arrogance in the face of a feisty opposition and win many Test matches for Australia.
In spite of any reputation, Maxwell actually has the first class record to suggest he just might have what it takes to be a batting all-rounder in the Test side.
The likes of Shaun Marsh, Alex Doolan, Ed Cowan and Rob Quiney have all made appearances in the Test side over the past few years. Maxwell’s first class average of 41.04 comfortably beats all of them.
Maxwell was like a rare diamond in a very rough and forgettable summer for Victoria this past season.
His class was no more obvious than when New South Wales thumped the Victorians by an innings and 48 runs back in February.
Victoria plummeted to 6 for 9 in their second dig, the worst ever start to an innings in Sheffield Shield history, before Maxwell blasted a quicker than a run a ball 127 to lift his team to 186.
Victoria only scored 404 runs in the whole match; Glenn made 221 of them.
Maxwell is already starting to flourish into one of Australia’s better players in the shorter formats. He is also one of the best fielders in the country and bowls handy off-spin.
Whether he can turn reasonable first class results into big Test tons remains to be seen, but I sure hope they give him the opportunity to try.
This rare talent will certainly need a considerable amount of coaching and discipline along the way, but the future looks bright for Australian cricket while the likes of Maxwell are at the top.
Samuel Gates
Roar Pro
Chanderpaul certainly doesn't have a traditional technique and hardly ever plays straight, but I don't think the West Indies really care considering he averages over 50 in Test match cricket.
Simoc
Guest
Seems you have already forgotten about a fellow called Adam Gilchrist. Adam still hasn't learnt to build an innings and he has retired. Bowlers hated the sight of him coming into bat and you can bet your house and contents that they feel the same way about Maxwell. He is a gamebreaker .
Simoc
Guest
'The Big Show' came from I think Matthew Wade and was grabbed by every media outlet in the world. Hasn't Wade been a major disappointment to Oz cricket. He seems to get progressively worse.
Simoc
Guest
I wouldn't worry about Jacks comments Samuel. He is stuck in a time warp and knows everything. Steve Waugh was a very good cricketer, but never a great. The Poms made him look way better than he was. But a great competitor of course. Never in the hitting class of Maxwell or test batting class of Ponting, Clarke. I'de compare him to Steve Smith.
jammel
Guest
Hi The Barry - agree with a lot of what you say. Maxwell will need to learn to temper a lot of what he does to be successful in Test cricket. No-one wants a batsman in the top six who makes quick/streaky 20s and 30s (e.g. kind of like Afridi or Warner at some points or even Watson...). The expectation re Maxwell must be that he deliver big runs like Steve Smith. It's about temperament. Maxwell needs to forget domination and focus on building big innings. Then he's a chance.
jammel
Guest
can't disagree with the top seven batsmen at least that you've listed Bearfax. I'd put Haddin somewhere in your list though...quality technique/quality batsman.
Samuel Gates
Roar Pro
That's an interesting insight, Mark. I think the fact that Maxwell is trying to distance himself from 'The Big Show' nickname is perhaps a good sign that he's maturing as a person and wants to focus on letting his results do the talking. Arrogant junior cricketers do your head in!
Mark dickson
Guest
Ian harvey was a great talent but was the most arrogant bloke i have ever met. As a junior player starting at a district club he gave you no time or would simply ignore you. He would even try to sell his gear that he got from sponsors to the junior players. I hope maxwell stays grounded and really goes on with it as he is s joy to watch.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Just tore into Amit Mishra in yesterday's match on the way to another 95. Apart from slog sweeps, he can use his feet very well to play classically.
josh
Roar Rookie
I can see why Maxwell gets up the nose of people. He doesn't play classically. Not suggesting he is in this class, but to put things in perspective people hated Ranji when started playing the leg slide glance, was unsportsmanlike etc. While I see the merits, in teaching kids the basics, vertical bat etc. Cricket batting, at it's most basic form is hitting the ball with a bat, who really cares how he does it?
Samuel Gates
Roar Pro
Jack, my apologies if I offended you. I meant the comment lightheartedly. You probably do have a better perspective on Waugh than I do. He was my favourite player growing up. I think I've learnt a reasonable amount about him by watching him live on quite a number of occasions, reading several biographies and his autobiography, and watching several videos. I never claimed to know everything about him though. For the sake of the article, I thought the comparison with Maxwell was an interesting one to make based on what I have read, heard and watched. In terms of words like 'stubborn', I meant that in regards to how he valued his wicket and would not be budged from the crease. We've probably both seen Waugh on many occasions save Australia from many dismal situations. His 'arrogance' was more in regards to his incredible competitiveness. For example, how he stood-up in the face of Ambrose in 1995, or how he sledged Gibbs in the 1999 World Cup and went on to make a century. I meant it all in a positive manner. I wasn't taking my 'tall poppy syndrome' comment personally either. I was simply noting that quite a number of people seem to want to tear Maxwell's achievements down, maybe because they don't like his aggressive and non-purist fashion of playing, and seem to disregard his great talent. I'm totally fine with people having different opinions. It makes the discussion very interesting. Thanks for your feedback.
jack thomas
Guest
What? I was being nice to u cos u are young & u reply me with "I didn’t realise you were his biographer"?? Samuel, Let me elaborate for u, I didn't claim to know young steve waugh n never compared him with present gen. cricketers. Your sentence "Maxwell reminds me of a young Steve Waugh" is rubbish cos u r just 22 yr old. A 45 yr old who has seen waugh's early career saying "this kid reminds me of young steve" makes sense. Claiming to know a person by reading books & from watching few videos makes no sense. One has to see the person's behaviour&attitude with their own eyes for a while to know him a bit & You definitely should not dare to say something like "he reminds me of bradman/trumper". Steve waugh is a great cricket personality. Just becos u read the book, dont think u've perceived enough to know the person. FYI, stubborn & arrongance are very wrong words to describe steve. What u perceive from the book depends on ur age too. For ex, if i read the same book, i would perceive things much better than what u did. You r just a 22 yr old, there's a lot for u to grasp&learn. For a young guy like u, its not uncommon to think everybody who differs from your opinion suffer from "tall poppy syndrome". Give more than enough respect to previous gen. cricketers especially great ones like waugh cos i'm 100% sure that youngsters has no idea of what actually steve waugh is. Realize 1 thing, present&future generation cricketers will never ever come close to the brand of cricket played by waugh or his earlier gen cricketers. Always compare people from the same generation. This is my last comment. I've decided to stop reading articles cos i just realised that i've no patience to reply.
Samuel Gates
Roar Pro
Unfortunately David Hussey probably falls into a similar category as Brad Hodge. Both were quality players who probably deserved a decent Test career. Hussey is 37 in a few months though so is probably out of contention,
tomjas
Guest
No chance Good player whose time has come and gone
Deep Thinker
Guest
David Hussey is definitely in Australia's top 6. No question. I've been saying that for years. I'll go one further than you - he should be picked! He averages 17 more runs per innings than Shaun Marsh and 15 more runs than Doolan. There is no point picking any of these younger guys for the future until they have runs on the board.. Like Rogers, picking David Hussey will buy some time for the younger guys to get their act together.
Tom from Perth
Guest
That's absolute nonsense, Stuart.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Maxwell has bags of talent but needs to learn to shift gears better. I've only really seen his limited overs innings rather than FC (probably like most people). That's fairly typical of 'dashers'. Both Warner and Smith have learned to temper their aggression recently and it's helped them raise the level of their games. Maxwell still seems pretty much all or nothing. Case in point was the ODI this year where Australia were struggling chasing an England total. Maxwell had them at his mercy but went for the high risk unorthodox reverse sweep once too often and got out at a critical point of the match. Faulkner came in and chased down the total by showing the same clean hitting but a lot more composure. If Maxwell can make that transition in his game there's no reason why he can't be a successful test cricketer but until he does I can't see him being any sort of long term solution.
Shouts Chen
Guest
Glenn Maxwell has been a fantastic spinner in Tests last year during the Indian Tour. I hope that he will be selected in the next test later this year.
Samuel Gates
Roar Pro
I think your criticism of Smith is unfair. He's quickly showing he's one of the most mature young players in the country. He showed this by having a solid summer in the Test side than coming back to First Class cricket to captain NSW to a Sheffield Shield title. He's the obvious choice for captain once Clarke retires.
Nudge
Guest
Well said learnyourfacts.