Maxi's back! Aussie wows US with 13 sixes in super ton
Glenn Maxwell may have called time on his one-day international career but he's shown his T20 brilliance remains undimmed as he took the 'Big Show' Stateside with a thrilling, landmark century in Major League Cricket.
'Maxi', who announced his decision to depart the international 50-over scene at the start of the month, demonstrated why he must still be in contention for T20 World Cup duty next year as he became the first Australian to crash a ton in the third season of the US competition.
Putting on his inimitable best for champions Washington Freedom, captain Maxwell, who had a wretched time in the Indian Premier League before a broken finger ruled him out of the business end of Punjab Kings' season, smashed 106no off just 49 balls as they crushed Los Angeles Knight Riders by 113 runs.
Maxi at his absolute BEST 🔥Glenn Maxwell smashed a sensational century, the first in his MLC career, and it couldn't have come in cleaner fashion! 💪 pic.twitter.com/bqGTmfp4nm
— Cognizant Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) June 18, 2025
Coming in at No.6 with the Freedom in some bother at 4-68 in the eighth over on Tuesday, a typically thunderous Maxwell affair, featuring 13 sixes and a couple of fours, helped blitz Freedom to 5-208 before the Washington bowlers then skittled LA for 95. It was the 36-year-old's eighth T20 ton in all.
Maxwell was delighted to get back among the runs again after scoring just 48 in his six IPL innings for the Kings - and reckoned he owed a big score to his great friend and coach at both franchises, Ricky Ponting.
"It felt like just a bit of time out in the middle was all I needed to feel that confidence coming back," said Maxwell.
"I've probably let him [Ponting] down in a few of the tournaments that we've played together. It's nice that last year we were able to have success in the Freedom together, and it was a shame I couldn't be around for a lot of the back end of the IPL where I broke my finger.
.@MLCricket, welcome to the 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪 🎬🍿#FreedomExpress #MLC2025 | @Gmaxi_32 pic.twitter.com/wHdPKkBmOl
— Washington Freedom (@WSHFreedom) June 18, 2025
"I think in this tournament, to be captain and play under him, I feel like we've got a great opportunity to hopefully add to last year's trophy."
At the start of June, Maxwell called it a day after 149 ODIs, a career that featured surely the greatest innings of all-time in the format, his amazing unbeaten double ton that lifted Australia to a critical victory over Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup.
There were echoes of that magic knock in the far less pressurised situation of an MLC game at the Oakland Coliseum as he dealt almost exclusively in sixes, lambasting the seventh T20 century in the tournament's short history while helping them plunder 124 in the final 10 overs.
His fellow Aussie teammate Mitchell Owen had also kicked off the fun with 32 off 11 balls as opener before he later delivered with the ball too, taking 3-18 to help dismantle the LA response.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
Kentucky's Jasper Johnson has made the second Team USA U19 cut
The Kentucky Wildcats didn't land a top five recruit like they have done in previous years, but they ended up with a talented class nonetheless. One of those recruits is guard Jasper Johnson, a top 25 player in this year's class. Both Johnson and Malachi Moreno attended the Team USA U19 training camp, competing for a spot on the team that will compete at the FIBA U19 Men's World Cup in late June and early July. When the team was cut down to 18, Moreno was eliminated with a minor injury, but Johnson moved on. Now, the team has been cut to 15 players, and Johnson, once again, has made it through. Other players to make the cut include former Kentucky targets Chris Cenac Jr., Mikel Brown Jr., and Koa Peat. Current Kentucky target Tyran Stokes is also on the list. The final cut will bring the roster down to the final 12 players who will make up the official team. The World Cup will begin June 28th, and Kentucky fans will hopefully get to root for Johnson there.
Fox Sports
3 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Auckland City Gets Routed for 2nd Straight Time at Club World Cup
Five days after losing 10-0 to FC Bayern, Auckland City was routed again, at the hands of Benfica. Angel Di Maria and Leandro Barreiro each scored two goals on Friday to help the Portugese-based club, Benfica, to defeat Auckland City 6-0 in a Club World Cup game that was delayed at halftime because of thunder and lightning. Di María, who teamed with Lionel Messi to win the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, scored his first goal from the penalty spot deep into added time at the end of the first half. His second score, and the team's sixth, was again from the penalty spot and in added time at the end of the match. Auckland City exchanged counterattacks with the Portuguese powerhouse in the first half of the Group C match, but was still outshot 18-1. The second half went Benfica's way. Vangelis Pavlidis made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute, Renato Sanches scored a short time later and Barreiro then scored a pair of goals to increase the lead to 5-0. A thunderstorm delayed the start of the second half for more than two hours. When the match resumed at Inter&Co Stadium, the goals came pouring in for Benfica. Key moment Auckland midfielder Tong Zhou went down with an apparent head injury just before halftime. Trainers attended to Zhou on the field, and Benfica defender Alvaro Carreras complained about the delay. He was given a yellow card after a spat with game officials. Takeaways With the win, Benfica has four points in Group C. Bayern Munich, which beat Auckland City 10-0 in its opening match, plays Boca Juniors later Friday in Miami Gardens, Florida. What they said "It was very good. We are happy to play here." — Benfica coach Bruno Lage. "I'm a little bit frustrated. The first half was solid. It was just very disappointing to concede a goal. I think the guys are going to be a little bit disappointed in the scoreline." — Auckland coach Paul Posa. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from FIFA Club World Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Senegal women's basketball team members denied US visas, prime minister says
The Senegalese women's basketball team has scrapped plans to train in the U.S. for the upcoming AfroBasket tournament in the Ivory Coast next month after several players and team officials had their visas denied, Senegal's prime minister said. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on Facebook Thursday that the team would train in Senegal's capital, Dakar, 'in a sovereign and conducive setting.' The West African nation's federation said in a statement that the visa applications of five players and seven officials weren't approved. 'Informed of the refusal of issuing visas to several members of the Senegal women's national basketball team, I have instructed the Ministry of Sports to simply cancel the 10-day preparatory training initially planned in the United States of America,' Sonko said. The visa denials come amid a push by the Trump administration to have countries improve vetting travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. Senegal wasn't on that list of countries and it was not immediately clear why the visas were denied. The travel ban includes exemptions for the World Cup, the Olympics and any 'other major sporting event,' though it's unclear what is considered a major event. The team is coached by Otis Hughley Jr., who previously led the Nigerian women's basketball team. He was the men's coach at Alabama A&M before resigning in March. Senegal, which was going to train in the U.S. from Sunday through July 3, has finished either first or second in four of the last five AfroBasket championships over the last decade and has won 11 titles in total. The tournament determines Africa's champion, which earns entry into the FIBA World Cup next year in Germany. ___
