Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of the ODI World Cup match against England in Ahmedabad after suffering concussion in a golf-related incident on Monday.
Maxwell was holding onto the back of a golf cart on the way back from the clubhouse at Kalhaar Blues and Greens Golf Club, outside Ahmedabad, to the team bus in the early evening during one of scheduled days off when he lost his grip. It’s understood it was a short journey of around 300 metres and there were not enough carts available for everyone to be seated. He is expected to be under concussion protocols for six to eight days.
“He’s been honest with the information he’s provided,” Andrew McDonald, Australia’s coach, said. “He’s doing fine. He’ll start some light exercises today and we feel as though it will be a reasonably straightforward return-to-play protocol. I suppose the fortunate part was there was no other injury sustained which could have been a lot worse that it currently is.
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“I think it rattled everyone to be fair once it came to the conclusion there was a concussion and he was going to miss a game. There was nothing untoward in the behaviour throughout the day: it was a clear-cut accident and unfortunately it’s compromised what we are doing as a team.”
Last year Maxwell suffered a badly broken leg when he slipped at a friend’s birthday party and it ruled him out of action for nearly five months. “The last 12 months, Glenn’s been up and down in terms of his recovery and it was a horrific injury that took place, but he’s been really good since he got here,” McDonald said.
The latest setback means Australia will need to replace one of their key middle-order players for the game against England with either Marcus Stoinis or Cameron Green likely to come in and Marnus Labuschagne now favoured to retain his place in the XI.
Earlier in the tournament, Maxwell hammered a record 40-ball century against Netherlands and has also been a vital second spinner alongside Adam Zampa, bowling 42.3 overs across six matches with an economy rate of just 4.82. Travis Head, who returned from injury against New Zealand, will now take on a supporting role with the ball.
(Cricinfo)
