Glenn Maxwell is often seen as a bit of a show pony, but it is an image he is desperately trying to shed. “I don't think it's something that's going to happen overnight with one innings,” he said at the MCG here on Sunday, after his vital 96 had helped Australia take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the VB Series. “I'm going to have to change a lot of people's perceptions. I'm hoping some more innings like that and people might start to forget about the stupid nicknames and the hype and the trick shots.”
He had not, Maxwell admitted, always batted this way. “Early on in my career I probably got a little too excited about trying to strike at 150 each game and be the match winner in each game and I didn't really finish a job,” he said. “Batting at five, it's about realizing the role I have to play and understanding that I'm not going to come in the last 10, 15 overs every day and have the licence to hit every ball for 4 or 6. It's about adapting.”
Maxwell spoke of his approach to batting. “I think people get caught up in attractive batting, good-looking shots with balls getting hit to the fielder,” he said. “I've always thought that it doesn't matter how it looks, as long as you get it to the fence. I just always try and get the job done. It's probably one of the things I've failed to do in the past few years. But tonight was a big step forward.”
When asked in jest if he was related to Virender Sehwag, Maxwell smiled. “I have more hair than Sehwag!” he said. “I've had a few chats with him. He's a guy who’s so chilled out and laid back and he doesn't get so caught up in his results. 'Someday Sehwag hits ball, it's OK. Some days not such, it's OK. Tomorrow sun comes up, it's OK.' With that sort of attitude it gives a fresh perspective on the way you look at your own game as well.”
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