Ill Maxwell breaks World Cup record in Dutch thumping | cricket.com.au
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell battled a severe illness and a sleepless night, contemplating whether to even take to the crease. However, he defied all odds and shattered the record for the fastest century in Cricket World Cup history. The 35-year-old achieved this extraordinary feat in just 40 balls against the Netherlands in Delhi, setting the stage for Australia’s remarkable 309-run victory.
Maxwell’s blistering ton surpassed South Africa’s Aiden Markram’s previous record of 49 balls, a record held for a mere 18 days. Previously, the record belonged to Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien since 2011. Maxwell’s century stands as the fourth-fastest in one-day international (ODI) history, coming just nine balls short of AB de Villiers’ legendary knock against the West Indies in 2015.
Maxwell’s journey to the crease was far from typical. A bug had left him unwell and deprived him of sleep on the eve of the match, casting doubt on whether he’d even participate.
“I’ve been quite unwell all day, so I wasn’t expecting much,” Maxwell confessed. “That perhaps cleared my mind a bit and allowed me to just go out there and play.”
He continued, “Sitting in the changing room, I really didn’t want to bat, which is quite different from the last game where I was very eager to get out there. We discussed managing over-arousal levels, and I probably reached double maximum if you couldn’t tell.”
Maxwell’s incredible performance ignited Australia’s innings, injecting life into it when he arrived at the crease in the 39th over. Remarkably, he didn’t face a single ball until the 41st over, but when he did, he exploded into action.
The Victorian all-rounder smashed nine fours and eight sixes, sending the ball to all corners of Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium with an array of reverse sweeps and conventional slogs. Maxwell even broke his own Australian record for the fastest ODI century, previously set during the 2015 World Cup against Sri Lanka. Impressively, this was only his third ODI century, with the other one coming against England in 2020.
Dutch bowler Bas de Leede bore the brunt of Maxwell’s relentless onslaught, recording the most expensive figures in ODI history at 2-115.
Maxwell believes that his dazzling performance dispelled any self-doubts that may have lingered due to his past setbacks, including a broken leg and an ankle issue that sidelined him for Australia’s recent tour of South Africa.
“It’s something I didn’t specifically plan to achieve,” Maxwell admitted regarding his explosive innings. “I simply aimed to build a solid platform. On this ground, you can capitalize, and it was gratifying to finally find some rhythm and consistently hit the ball in the middle of the bat.”
He added, “If you look at my recent games, I hadn’t been achieving that, so it was about giving myself time in the middle and building the confidence and foundation to excel from there.”
Maxwell’s exceptional performance provided a massive confidence boost, especially after his team amassed 399-8 and the Netherlands were bowled out for a mere 90 in their response.
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