Maxwell slams game fix doco
GLENN Maxwell has launched a scathing attack on documentary makers who barely disguised his identity when airing unfounded match-fixing allegations against two Australian players.
Maxwell decided to speak out yesterday and reveal his devastation at having one of the fondest memories of his career tarnished by farcical and incorrect claims that haven’t even prompted an investigation by the ICC.
The Al Jazeera documentary aired sensational boasting from Indian criminals claiming that they had corrupted an Australia v India Test match in 2017.
No players were named under the threat of legal action by Cricket Australia but Al Jazeera was so specific about the period of the match that was at the centre of the claims and made so little effort to distort the image of an Australian depicted batting in the match that it left little doubt Maxwell was one of the players at the centre of the accusations.
Maxwell made his maiden Test century in the match, which also happened to be his first appearance in the baggy green in nearly three years.
Al Jazeera’s claims against the Australians centred on slowing run-rates before session breaks despite the fact this is common in Test matches, particularly in the subcontinent.
The 29-year-old didn’t need to publicly out himself, but yesterday decided to dispel any lingering innuendo around the documentary by opening up about his hurt on Melbourne radio station SEN.
Maxwell says he shares a strong relationship with anticorruption investigators because he has reported several suspicious incidents he’s witnessed in the Indian Premier League.
“I was shocked and a bit hurt by it as well. To have these allegations about your involvement in a game where you have only got happy memories about, and great memories,” Maxwell told SEN.
“I still remember hugging Steve Smith after making my maiden Test hundred, so to have that tarnished by these allegations was pretty devastating and there’s obviously no truth to it whatsoever.
“It was one hundred per cent unfair. To tarnish one of the best moments of my career was pretty brutal. To say I had done anything untoward in that game when I’d just finally got back into the Test side and I’d worked my backside off … is ridiculous.”
Perhaps the most damning reflection of the allegations Al Jazeera made about Australian players is the fact the ICC haven’t even felt it necessary to investigate.
Initially the governing body’s anti-corruption unit indicated it would interview all players referenced by the documentary — but Maxwell hasn’t heard a thing. “They actually didn’t. They just said, ‘this is what’s coming out’”, said Maxwell.