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Glenn Maxwell opened up about his severe cramps
Maxwell struggled with the physical demands in Mumbai
But he fought to save Australia against Afghanistan.
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Glenn Maxwell revealed he seriously considered retiring injured before delivering one of the greatest ODI innings in history to lead Australia to victory.
Maxwell’s miracle in Mumbai against Afghanistan was widely hailed as the best ODI innings of all time after he smashed 201 off 128 balls to help Australia chase down 291.
After falling to 7-91 early on, Maxwell and Pat Cummins’ unbeaten 202 runs saw Australia advance to the semi-finals where they will face South Africa.
In one of the most dominant performances of all time, Maxwell hit 21 fours and 10 sixes while scoring 68.6 percent of Australia’s runs.
But his innings wasn’t all about the numbers as he struggled to move properly due to severe cramps in both legs which actually led to him falling at one point.
Glenn Maxwell revealed he almost didn’t complete his Mumbai miracle
Maxwell was unable to move his body while playing shots and went through a spell of nine overs with Cummins when they ran only six times.
“It was strange because I was cramping in one of my toes that was coming up in front of my shin,” Maxwell said.
“And then, as I was leaving to go down the other end, I was also having calf cramps. So I was having cramps on both sides of my lower leg.
“And then as I was going down going ‘oh, I’m cramping,’ my left hamstring was cramping every time.
“So I have both legs, and then a back spasm at the same time.”
Maxwell’s moves were such that her teammates compared her run to that of Olympic walker Jane Saville.
At one point, Australia brought Adam Zampa down to the boundary rope to replace Maxwell with 10 overs and 60 runs remaining, but the Victorian opted to stay on the field.
“It was certainly in our discussions,” Maxwell said.
“We talked about pulling back and trying to work my back and trying to relax my legs a little bit.
“Jonesy (Nick Jones), the physiotherapist, said it would be very difficult to go back down the stairs after that.
“Then we came up with ‘let’s stay at one end as long as you can’ until you can at least walk to the other end if there’s an easy single.
The Australian star single-handedly saved his team as they faced a humiliating defeat.
But he nearly retired after suffering severe cramps during his physically demanding innings.
“But for a while it was ‘if I can get over a boundary or two’, it didn’t really matter what was happening at the other end.
“Because we were able to throw a ball at that point, there was some planning, it wasn’t just a chaotic swing.”
Maxwell’s innings was immediately ranked among the greatest, with Ricky Ponting saying on commentary that he had never seen anything like it.
Sachin Tendulkar also called it the best ODI innings he had ever seen, as did Adam Gilchrist and former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Maxwell himself said he still needs time to sink in before judging his ranking.
But after missing the previous victory against England following a concussion after falling from a golf cart last week, he knows he won’t be celebrating before the final group match against Bangladesh.
“After the first two games, we were almost written off by most people,” Maxwell said.
“To be able to string together six wins at the right time… to be in the semi-final is a great feeling and I hope we enjoy a few days in Pune.”
“I will stay away from golf carts.”