Maxwell Retires from International Cricket Without His Dream Farewell Match at Home

Glenn Maxwell had dreamed of playing a farewell match for Australia on home soil. That hope has gone unfulfilled. The star Australian all-rounder has retired from international cricket at the age of 38.

Maxwell has also stepped away from first-class and List A cricket. He will, however, continue playing for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.

Maxwell had retired from one-day international cricket in June last year, while leaving the door open to continue in international T20 cricket. He played for Australia at this year's T20 World Cup, but the Australians could not get past the group stage.

Australia's last match against Oman in February thus became the final match of Maxwell's international career. Although he did not get a chance to bat in that match, he took two wickets.

Maxwell spoke about his retirement decision on The Final Word podcast. His future had been discussed with the Australian team before and after the T20 World Cup. In the end, he decided to step aside with the aim of giving the team's young cricketers their opportunity.

Maxwell said, 'There was a lot of discussion between us before and after the T20 World Cup. The discussions were quite open. There was no pressure from the Australia team management. We had decided to keep the door open. There were a few series ahead and they were looking to the future. We saw that in Bangladesh as well. The boys got opportunities and performed very well.'

Maxwell won the ODI World Cup twice with Australia. In the final of the 2021 T20 World Cup, the winning runs also came off his bat.

Before leaving international cricket, he had hoped to play a farewell match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). But he could not reconcile that expectation with the team's future plans.

Maxwell said, 'I think there was a faint hope of playing a farewell match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), or there was some discussion about it. But I fully understand the path they are taking with this team. With the 2028 Olympics ahead, I think a lot will change in the next 12 to 24 months. They have to make sure the emerging young players are looked after. At the same time, these players need the chance to face the kind of pressure in international cricket that perhaps no one else can create.'

Maxwell played 130 T20 internationals for Australia, scoring 2,897 runs and taking 51 wickets in the format. He scored five centuries in T20 internationals, a world record he shares jointly with India's Rohit Sharma.

In Test cricket, the all-rounder played seven matches for Australia, playing his last Test in 2017. He scored 339 runs in the format; his highest innings was 104 against India in Ranchi.

In ODI cricket, Maxwell scored 3,990 runs in 149 matches. His unbeaten 201 is his career-best innings. In this format he also took 77 wickets alongside four centuries and 23 half-centuries.