‘Let The Big Show know he will go on’

KEVIN Pietersen says if Australia want to defend their crown at next year’s one-day World Cup, they must immediately guarantee Glenn Maxwell his place.

The former England star turned wildlife crusader was in Sydney last night launching his worldwide brand, SORAI, which is on a mission to save rhinos in Africa and India.

Pietersen has been keeping a close eye on Melbourne Stars teammate Maxwell, who has spent a summer on the outer.

On Wednesday night Maxwell made an emphatic statement with a stunning unbeaten Twenty20 hundred against the England side that destroyed Australia in the recent one-day series, in which he wasn’t picked.

Maxwell has conceded recently he is unsure where he stands in the minds of selectors and key people in Australian cricket when it comes to the one-day and Test formats.

Pietersen said this destabilising conjecture must stop now and called on Australia to back in The Big Show.

“I’d sit him down after that knock and I’d tell Glenn Maxwell: ‘You will play in every single white-ball game of cricket we’re going to play over the next 18 months,” Pietersen said. “At the moment, Glenn Maxwell plays under a cloud thinking he might not play the next game and that is no way to play international cricket.

“You’ve got a World Cup next year. That bloke can win you a World Cup.”