Corner of Wiltshire rooting for Maxwell
AFTER being snubbed for the first Test, the Big Show went about the business of run-scoring in his own unique way – smashing 278 for New South Wales in one of the most extraordinary Sheffield Shield innings of modern times.
The uncertainty over Australia’s current batting lineup means that Glenn Maxwell is likely to get a first Ashes runout before this series concludes in Sydney in the New Year.
And if he does, then he can count on plenty of support from at least one corner of England.
Maxwell had already appeared in the IPL when he arrived in Salisbury for a spell at South Wilts in 2012.What happened next would transform his career and, ultimately, lead to him being a $1m IPL player.
It also thrust him into the minds of the Australian selectors and set him on a path to Test recognition, which came against India the following spring.
“It’s funny, he has a British passport,” club captain, James Hayward, tells TCP. “I guess that means he could be playing for England but cut him open and he’d bleed green and gold.
“He always said his ambition was to play in the Ashes in Australia and he must be pretty close to that.”
Maxwell arrived in Wiltshire as keen for a life experience as a cricket one. A regular on South Wilts’ nights out, he was not only a popular team-mate but also a shining example to club members young and old.
It was clear he also possessed a rare talent with the bat. The slight issue was keeping him out there long enough to appreciate it.
“Playing on English pitches in early summer isn’t easy, particularly when you’ve just come from India. He pretty much scored between 20 and 46 every time he batted – and quickly. It would have been great to have seen what he could have done in 15 overs rather than seven!
“He was great to watch, though, and a great bloke. He was brilliant with the younger guys and he would take the time to talk to everyone.
“We had some good nights out in Salisbury, too. I’ve met up with him quite a few times since and we both must be getting older – we spent far more time on the golf course than in the pub!
“We’re all hoping that he does get a call-up because he’s still massively popular here.We’ll all stay up to watch him.”
Maxwell, now 29, would end 2012 by having earned his place as a key member of Hampshire’s T20 side but it’s his spell in club cricket that’s remembered five years on. And if the call arrives, there will be plenty hoping that the Big Show lives up to his name.