Image Credit- PTI
After being hospitalised briefly last Friday night
after a night out in Adelaide, Australia’s premier all-rounder Glenn Maxwell
needs to do his share of using his rest and recovery periods properly,
according to coach Andrew McDonald.
Maxwell hasn’t played cricket since the Melbourne
Stars’ January 15 BBL match. He had already been rested from Australia’s
three-match ODI series against the West Indies prior to Friday’s incident in
Adelaide as part of his management of his previously fractured leg. As a
result, Maxwell was not expected to play again until February 9, when he was
scheduled to play for Australia in the T20I series against the West Indies.
Maxwell flew from his homeland of Melbourne to
Adelaide for an invitation to play golf on a very warm Adelaide afternoon.
After going out to drink in the evening, he passed unconscious. An ambulance
brought him to the hospital’s emergency room, where he was treated and
ultimately released without being admitted.
After the selectors gave Maxwell an extra week off to
relax ahead of the T20I series, McDonald said Maxwell needed to take a closer
look at the decisions he was making.
“I’ve spoken to Glenn, had a good chat with him
yesterday around the incident,” McDonald told SEN. “Him looking after
himself needs to be a consideration moving forward. We’ve given him the
opportunity to rest and rehab in that period of time and I suppose the lessons
for him around that would be to take up his end of the bargain in that space
and take care of himself.
“We want to see Glenn Maxwell playing cricket for
the next three to four years for Australia. Can he get to the next World Cup in
2027 in South Africa? Who knows. But he’s a key player in our white-ball
formats. When he is out there we’re a far better team and on the back of that
horrific injury that he did have, there’s going to be some management things
that are put in place around him.
“But we want Glenn Maxwell playing for Australia
for as long as he can. We’re going to have to do our end and Glenn is no doubt
going to have to hold up his end of the bargain.
“All the information he’s given, he’s had a few
drinks and clearly the night has ended the way that it did and that’s less than
ideal from his perspective and our perspective. It’s an honest mistake. He
needs to obviously have a look at what he’s doing at his end and is that the
right thing to be doing at that time? Thankfully there’s no harm out of it.
He’s well now.
“That’s the other thing to consider in these
instances, yes you can point the finger but there’s a duty of care from our end
and he’s doing well and he looks as though he’ll return to play in that West
Indies series in those T20 games which we’re excited for.”