Veteran Australian All-rounder Glenn Maxwell has picked his choice of player of the tournament from Australia snubbing the likes of their star performers Adam Zampa, Travis Head, and David Warner. The 35-year-old played a crucial role in the team’s sixth ODI World Cup victory in India.
Glenn Maxwell has produced a couple of memorable knocks for the Australian team in the marquee event. David Warner and Adam Zampa were among the leading run-scorers and wicket-takers in the league, while Travis Head played a match-winning knock for the team in the Semifinals and Finals of the World Cup but the experienced All-rounder has picked Australian skipper Pat Cummins as the standout performer for the team.
Speaking on AGE.COM.AU, Glenn Maxwell feels that statistics might not justify Pat Cummins’s contribution to the Australian team in the World Cup winning campaign and highlighted his performance for the team in crucial games alongside his leadership duties, which as enabled the Australian team to win straight nine games to win the championship.
“The stats might not say it but he was probably our player of the tournament, just for the impacts he had at different stages. You look at the partnerships he had, the impact he had against Sri Lanka,+ he was the one to make the breakthroughs.”
“[Against] Afghanistan he was the one to stick around with me at the other end, [in the] semi-final he was there hitting the winning runs at the end, [in] the final he was the one who changed the plans to go to that short ball and slower ones without a mid-off to Kohli and KL Rahul. It was just extraordinary tactical awareness,” Glenn Maxwell said.
In the crucial game of the tournaments, Glenn Maxwell helped Australia recover from 91 for 7 wickets alongside Pat Cummins to successfully chase down 292, defying the odds and producing one of the greatest ODI innings of all time. The Australian finisher played a counter-attacking knock to become the first batter to score a double-hundred in chasing a target.
I Don’t Think Pat Cummins Got Enough Recognition – Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell feels that Pat Cummins did not receive the credit he deserved for his contributions to the team over the entire tournament and was pleased with the team’s campaign following the two opening losses to South Africa and India.
“Those little moments I look back on and think that was absolutely brilliant, and I don’t think he got enough recognition for how good he was through the whole tournament. It wasn’t just his bowling or batting, it was a multitude of different things that he was able to contribute. It just puts a smile on my face thinking back, and just that journey from after those [first] two games,” Glenn Maxwell added.
Despite having helped Australia win the World Test Championship (WTC) and retain the Ashes, Cummins received a lot of criticism for his captaincy at the start of the World Cup but made a stunning comeback to lead Australia to the sixth World Cup victory. He received praise as well for his tactics and strategies while playing during the big game.