(Reuters) – Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood is anticipating that Glenn Maxwell will still be able to play in the team’s final round-robin match against Bangladesh despite the physical toll of his incredible innings against Afghanistan at the World Cup.
Maxwell endured intense cramping as he scored an unbeaten double century, which has been lauded as one of the greatest one-day international innings by cricketing figures.
Australia’s victory against Afghanistan secured their spot in the semi-finals against South Africa, making their upcoming match against Bangladesh a less crucial fixture. However, Hazlewood believes that Maxwell will still be ready to play.
“Yeah, I think so,” the bowler told News Ltd. “It’s just about getting your hydration and your weight back to where it should have been before.
“I don’t think he’ll do too much in between now and then and it’s a couple of days. So hopefully, fingers crossed he’s all right.”
Despite experiencing severe cramping, Maxwell revealed that he had considered retiring at 147 after falling to the ground, suffering from cramps in both legs and a back spasm.
Team physiotherapist Nick Jones described the situation, saying, “He went down like he was a shot, lying down like a dead man on the floor. I got out there and it was his right calf, his left hammy and a few other areas that were all cramping at the same time.”
“While we were giving him a bit of a stretch out, it was in that moment he said, ‘I’m done here. I can’t keep going. I need to come off and retire’.”
Despite his initial struggles, Maxwell managed to get back up and relied on his instinct to finish the extraordinary innings. “The way it played out from there was absolutely amazing and well beyond anything I expected he could do,” Jones added. “I think we made the right call in terms of keeping him out there.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
