NEW DELHI: Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell stated that he is still coping with the affects of breaking his left leg in 2022 and that he needs to work very hard every day to be able to play cricket without discomfort.
During a friend’s 50th birthday celebration in 2022, Maxwell sustained a cracked fibula, chipped tibia, and torn ankle ligaments on his left leg, shortly after Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign ended in the league stage.
Maxwell was not included on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of India in 2023 because of the horrific injuries he sustained, but he did make it to the victorious ODI World Cup squad. Further casting doubt on Maxwell’s suitability for Test duty is his leg, particularly in light of Australia’s February 2019 tour of Sri Lanka.
“It’s still my leg. It’s what is giving me the most grief since breaking it, so it’s still a work in progress. It’s something I have to work hard on every day to make sure it’s in a position where I feel like I can get through a full day of cricket unscathed and hopefully pain free.”
“It takes a lot more rehab and a lot more time than other parts of my body … it’s (managing) time on feet, lots of gym work, strengthening up different areas of my body and making sure I don’t have those little niggles that set me back a couple of weeks each time,” said Maxwell to Daily Telegraph, as per IANS.
Maxwell has only made two appearances in first-class cricket since the end of 2019 and hasn’t played a Test match for Australia since the 2017 tour of Bangladesh. The all-rounder said he has received assurances from the Australian selectors that a “outside the box” lineup will be chosen for the Test series against Sri Lanka.
“They’ve been pretty open to selecting outside the box for players who do well in those conditions, and knowing what it’s like in Sri Lanka, I don’t think Shield form is going to be a huge factor in how someone is going to go over there.”
“It’s just completely different conditions, you’ve got to have a really solid game plan against spin and a really good idea of how you’re going to tackle them in those conditions – it’s a different beast. I understand that it might not look the same as a lot of the Australian teams that play in everyday Tests.”
Admittedly, he had no idea whether Sheffield Shield form will be taken into account when choosing players for the Sri Lanka Test visit. “It would be great if I could get my body into a position where I can play over (in Sri Lanka). But as far as Shield cricket, I’m not sure how much they’ll take that into consideration.”
“And whether or not I need to prove I can get through four days of cricket before I play Test cricket. Hopefully my body’s going really well and I can put my hand up for the Test stuff as well, but there’s still a lot of work left to do and a lot of boxes to tick before then.”
During a friend’s 50th birthday celebration in 2022, Maxwell sustained a cracked fibula, chipped tibia, and torn ankle ligaments on his left leg, shortly after Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign ended in the league stage.
Maxwell was not included on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of India in 2023 because of the horrific injuries he sustained, but he did make it to the victorious ODI World Cup squad. Further casting doubt on Maxwell’s suitability for Test duty is his leg, particularly in light of Australia’s February 2019 tour of Sri Lanka.
“It’s still my leg. It’s what is giving me the most grief since breaking it, so it’s still a work in progress. It’s something I have to work hard on every day to make sure it’s in a position where I feel like I can get through a full day of cricket unscathed and hopefully pain free.”
“It takes a lot more rehab and a lot more time than other parts of my body … it’s (managing) time on feet, lots of gym work, strengthening up different areas of my body and making sure I don’t have those little niggles that set me back a couple of weeks each time,” said Maxwell to Daily Telegraph, as per IANS.
Maxwell has only made two appearances in first-class cricket since the end of 2019 and hasn’t played a Test match for Australia since the 2017 tour of Bangladesh. The all-rounder said he has received assurances from the Australian selectors that a “outside the box” lineup will be chosen for the Test series against Sri Lanka.
“They’ve been pretty open to selecting outside the box for players who do well in those conditions, and knowing what it’s like in Sri Lanka, I don’t think Shield form is going to be a huge factor in how someone is going to go over there.”
“It’s just completely different conditions, you’ve got to have a really solid game plan against spin and a really good idea of how you’re going to tackle them in those conditions – it’s a different beast. I understand that it might not look the same as a lot of the Australian teams that play in everyday Tests.”
Admittedly, he had no idea whether Sheffield Shield form will be taken into account when choosing players for the Sri Lanka Test visit. “It would be great if I could get my body into a position where I can play over (in Sri Lanka). But as far as Shield cricket, I’m not sure how much they’ll take that into consideration.”
“And whether or not I need to prove I can get through four days of cricket before I play Test cricket. Hopefully my body’s going really well and I can put my hand up for the Test stuff as well, but there’s still a lot of work left to do and a lot of boxes to tick before then.”
