Who would have thought Glenn Maxwell could ever be described as a consistent contributor in the middle order for the Australian cricket team.
More often we use the words, explosive, unpredictable, innovative and downright outrageous to describe the man known as the Big Show, but certainly not consistent.
Surprisingly, in 2015, Australia’s top-ranked ODI batsman is Maxwell. This has come off the back of his more-than-decent performances at the World Cup.
This year Maxwell has averaged well over 40 with the bat. He hasn’t performed too shabbily with the ball either with an average under 30.
Yes, I am going out on a bit of limb here. Our man Maxwell hasn’t been the full definition of consistent when you look at his recent scores, but on the pitch he has introduced a newfound, sensible style to his batting.
The Big Show has kept the reverse sweep and other less traditional cricket shots further up his sleeve during the current limited overs series in England.
This was highlighted by his classical innings in the only Twenty20, where he scored 44 from 32 deliveries. His knock did include one or two full-blown slogs, but none of his usual trick shots.
When he first cracked the ODI team back in 2012, Maxwell said he could be the team’s x-factor. This probably meant he had the potential to belt the ball over the fence when the team needed it, and also when they didn’t.
It probably didn’t mean Maxwell accumulating runs and consistently adding 40 runs or more to the team’s total.
But the great thing is, despite the all-rounder playing more traditionally, he still piles on runs at a rate of knots. Maxwell almost always scores at quicker than a run a ball, as his career strike rate of 126.08 shows.
The next question for Maxwell to answer is whether he can convert his solid starts into big scores on a regular basis.
I certainly think he can, including when the pressure is on, but it’s up to the man himself to put the runs on the board.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
A six-laden, 27-ball 84 from Jake Fraser-McGurk to continue his outrageous debut IPL!
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
