Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Glenn Maxwell could have added motivation to steady his team’s floundering campaign in IPL 2023, with four of his childhood friends flying down from Australia to cheer their mate in the ongoing tournament.
RCB has eked out just one win in three outings -- against Mumbai Indians -- and is placed eighth with two points.
Maxwell scored an unbeaten 12 against MI, five against KKR, which the Bengaluru outfit lost by 81 runs, and 59 against Lucknow Super Giants in a losing cause.
The 34-year-old has bowled just one over so far as RCB have relied more on their pace bowlers.
With an unflattering performance so far this season, the presence of his friends could boost Maxwell’s morale, which would then put RCB back on track.
Maxwell also expressed the hope that with his mates in the stands, “the results are going to turn for us”.
“The last two years in RCB have been incredibly special and with moments like these with my friends here, just adds to that. The fact that we have such a connected tight (RCB) group at the moment, we know the results are going to turn for us.
“To have this crew with me at the moment, it’s been really special. So, hopefully, more success this year and RCB is (able to climb) to the top of the table,” said Maxwell on a podcast posted by RCB on its twitter handle.
The four friends, who are here to cheer Maxwell are Anthony Davies, a mechanical farmer, brothers Brendan and Nathan Walsh (both school teachers) and Aaron Daniels, an electrician who also works in the fire industry.
“I am a lot excited, I suppose to perform well in front of these guys. (They coming here) means a lot, to have them here it is pretty special,” added Maxwell.
All the friends were convinced at an early stage that Maxwell had special talent.
“Glenn, even at 11-12, was pretty special. He is an incredible talent and I really enjoyed his energy, his positivity and he is such a kind person. We are really connected through those early years and from there, Nathan, Maxwell and I got connected in high school as well,” said Brendan.
Anthony said he had no doubt that Maxwell would reach this level one day.
“I think, it was quite clear to say, yeah (that he will reach this level some day). I come in and think I’m not too bad with the bat, and, then he (Maxwell) would come in and be batting left-handed better than I could right handed,” said Anthony.
“So he got that point on you straight away. He is a talent, not only in the field, the way he bowls, the way he bats, his leadership, the knowledge and understanding of the game, it’s impressive,” he added.
Brendan added that he and Maxwell had played a lot of age-group cricket in Australia, from where the all-rounder developed his work ethic.
“Glenn and I played a lot of junior cricket together but we also got to experience the Victorian U-15 together, the Victorian U-19 together, and the one thing I noticed about him is, not only does he have the talent, he’s also got an incredible work ethic.
“If you put those two things together then you get a pretty special player,” added Brendan.
“He’s got the mindset of a champion and anything is achievable, doesn’t matter who’s holding that cricket ball at the other end, what the conditions are, he believes he can hit the ball out of the ground,” added Nathan.
Brendan also shared a secret about Maxwell, saying he loves his golf but there is one shot he wished he never played -- the 16-metre chip.
“He loves his golf, there is a particular shot on the golf course that scares him and that is the 16-metre chip shot, it’s not a full swing, it’s a half swing. He has to go deftly at it with soft hands and I’ve never seen his knees wobble more than over the 16-metre chip shot, so that is something the fans don’t know,” added Brendan.
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