Glenn Maxwell blasted 108 and shared a record 212-run stand with Alex Carey as Australia won the ODI series against England 2-1 after chasing down 303 in Old Trafford.
Australia were staring down the barrel at 73/5 in their pursuit of 303 in the final ODI against England in Old Trafford. At the crease were Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey. Maxwell had endured his demons in the last couple of years, with the right-hander pulling out of the series against Sri Lanka to cope with mental health issues and undergoing surgery on his elbow. Carey was untested for this kind of pressure inserted by an England side who had not lost a single ODI series at home since 2015.
What followed was a remarkable turnaround. Carey and Maxwell smashed centuries and their 212-run stand for the sixth wicket, the best for Australia in ODIs and the third-highest ever, helped them cross the line by three wickets. Maxwell’s consistency won him the Player of the series award as Australia avenged their 5-0 whitewash in 2018 in grand style. What led to the remarkable transformation of Maxwell? Two words. The coronavirus lockdown.
Victoria in Australia is one of the COVID hotspots in the country. Since all cricketing action was stopped in Melbourne and in the entire state, Maxwell and his ODI captain Aaron Finch, both hailing from the state had nothing else to do. It was at this time that Maxwell connected closely with Finch and decided to revamp his playing career.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the pair trained together and talked cricket. Out of those conversations came clarity about Maxwell’s role in the team, which has often seemed a vexed question for Finch, selectors and Maxwell himself. Maxwell was shunted up and down the order at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England and had a mostly wretched tournament. However, in Manchester over the past week he batted at seven throughout, and looks like he might stay there.
“I just had so much clarity of what (Finch) expected of me in that role. I think I was able to take the game on, with the clarity he gave me before the tournament, and was able to ride on that momentum as well. Just knowing I had the backing of him is awesome,” Maxwell said after the match.
England’s bio-bubble a blueprint
England returned to action following the COVID-19 stoppage in July with three tests against the West Indies in bio-secure venues at Southampton and Manchester before matches across all three formats against Ireland, Pakistan and Australia.
"From where we were five months ago to have had a full set of international fixtures and to have cricket back on the TV is huge for the games. I think we’ve pioneered and mapped out exactly how to get cricket back on. Given we’ve had no positive cases within the bubble I think it`s a very good example and one every team around the world will look at. Whether they can model it exactly like that might be a bit more challenging but I think the ECB has done an outstanding job,” Morgan said.
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 "Glenn Maxwell 108")
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