Andrew McDonald's stern warning for Glenn Maxwell amid recent off-field incident
The Australian coach has pleaded with Glenn Maxwell to not ruin the last few years of his international cricket career.
Australian coach Andrew McDonald has urged Glenn Maxwell to hold up his end of the bargain and get the most out of the end of his international cricket career following a recent incident on a night out. Maxwell was taken to hospital in Adelaide last weekend, with reports claiming he collapsed due to dehydration.
According to Maxwell's manager, Ben Tippett, the Aussie all-rounder is embarrassed by how the night in Adelaide played out. But Maxwell claims he would have been more careful if he hadn't been informed that he was being rested from Australia's ODI squad to face the West Indies next month. Maxwell was named in the squad on January 11, but on January 16 it was decided he would be rested from the ODI games so he could have five days off before physical preparations began for the T20 series this week.
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After Maxwell relayed the events of his day and night out in Adelaide to McDonald, the Australian coach spoke of his disappointment in the all-rounder for using his time off poorly. "I’ve spoken to Glenn and had a good chat with him yesterday around the incident,” McDonald told SEN Mornings.
"Him looking after himself has to be a consideration moving forward and we are giving him the opportunity to rest and rehab in that period of time and I suppose the lessons for him around that would be to take up his end of the bargain and take care of himself.
"We want to see Glenn Maxwell playing cricket for the next three to four years for Australia – can he get to the next World Cup in 2027? He's a key player in our white-ball format and when he's out there we are a far better team. We’re going to do our end and Glenn’s going to have to pull up his end of that bargain.
"All the information he’s given, he’s had a few drinks and the night has ended the way that it did and that’s less than ideal from his perspective and our perspective and it’s an honest mistake. He needs to have a look at what he’s doing at his end and whether it’s the right thing, but thankfully there’s no harm out of it and he’s well now."
Glenn Maxwell incident the latest in a difficult two years
The incident in Adelaide is the latest in what has been a tumultuous last two years for Maxwell. In November 2022, he slipped and broke his leg in what was described as a 'freak accident' at a friend's 40th birthday party. He denied alcohol played a part in the mishap.
The serious injury ended up costing him a chance to be part of Australia's Test squad to tour India in early 2023. Maxwell was then concussed when he fell off a golf cart at the World Cup last year and was ruled out for the game against England.
McDonald wants Maxwell to think more about his actions as they will have an effect on the longevity of his career. "It's a discussion we’ve had over the last couple of weeks around where he is at physically on the back of that major injury he had over 12 months ago now," McDonald said.
"That injury (where he broke his leg) hasn’t allowed him to do the things he’s wanted to do over a period of time and recovery is one of the biggest problems he has pulling up from games. He just started to flag in the back-end of the Big Bash and for those that know ODI cricket well, it’s probably one of the most demanding formats for any player with the speed they have to move in the field and with the bat and Maxwell being a bowler as well."
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