Maxwell retires from international cricket
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has retired from international cricket aged 38 on Monday, also bringing down the curtain on his first-class and List A careers, while remaining available for Melbourne Stars in the BBL after extending his contract to the 2027-28 season.
Maxwell had quit ODIs in June last year but kept himself available for T20Is, and his final international appearance came against Oman in February at the T20 World Cup, where Australia failed to progress beyond the group stage and he took two wickets without batting.
Maxwell had hoped for a farewell appearance at the MCG but said he understood why Australia were moving on, adding: “I can completely understand the direction they’re going with this squad.”
He played 130 T20Is for Australia, scoring 2,897 runs at a strike rate of 154.42 and taking 51 wickets, and his five centuries in the format are a world record he shares with India’s Rohit Sharma.
A two-time ODI World Cup winner who hit the winning runs in Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup triumph, Maxwell also played seven Tests, the last in 2017, scoring 339 runs with a best of 104 against India in Ranchi.
His most memorable knock in international cricket came in the 50-over World Cup in 2023, when he hit an unbeaten 201 off 128 deliveries in Mumbai, fighting severe cramps for half his innings – a knock many consider the greatest ever in ODIs.
In last September, he led Belfast Wolves to the final of the inaugural European T20 Premier League and, five days later, played two One-Day Cup matches for Victoria, which proved to be his last appearances for the state.
Speaking on the Final Word podcast, Maxwell said discussions with team management had been open-ended and free of pressure, with Australia looking to the future. “We saw that in Bangladesh with guys getting their opportunity and performing really well,” he said.
Maxwell admitted that telling his Victoria team-mates his state career was over was harder than he had expected, saying he “got a little bit choked up” while addressing the group, and that he must now invest more time in his body.