Glenn Maxwell has retired from ODI cricket, putting his focus firmly on next year's T20 World Cup. Here's a look at the numbers that made him one of Australia's finest players of the format.
Glenn Maxwell retires with 149 ODIs, the last of which came in the semi-final of the 2025 Champions Trophy against India. Debuting in 2012, Maxwell was identified as a big-hitting aggressor who could press on the pedal with ease, floating around the batting order to become a crucial part of Australia's white-ball squad for over a decade.
One of Australia's best ever
Maxwell's success cannot be measured by the volume of his runs, since he primarily batted at five or below for Australia. That said, he scored the fifth-most runs for the team batting at five or below, and easily had the best strike-rate doing so (123.36). He hit four centuries from there: only Andrew Symonds hit more (6) in the same role.
Across formats, Maxwell was looked at as a reliable option in Asian conditions. He justified it to an extent, scoring 1,533 runs at 40.34 in that continent. Among all Australian middle-order batters (No.4 to 7), he struck the fourth-most runs in the region, and hit two centuries, joint with Michael Hussey and Symonds, and only behind Michael Clarke.
In terms of sheer striking power, Maxwell was way ahead of the rest. With a 1,000-run cutoff, he has the best strike-rate for Australia (126.70). In fact, only one batter – Andre Russell – has a better strike-rate in the world (130.22).
His six-hitting ability was as good as any in the world. Among all players with at least 150 sixes, Maxwell's sixes-to-innings ratio is bettered only by Rohit Sharma (1.29 v 1.13).
| Player | Matches | Sixes | Ratio |
| Rohit Sharma | 265 | 344 | 1.29 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 136 | 155 | 1.13 |
| Chris Gayle | 294 | 331 | 1.12 |
| Jos Buttler | 162 | 174 | 1.07 |
| Martin Guptill | 195 | 187 | 0.95 |
World Cups: The great and the not-so-great
One of the major highlights of his ODI career was his performance at World Cups. He played a starring role in Australia's 2015 World Cup win, averaging 64.80 and striking at 182.02, including a century from No.5 against Sri Lanka. At that time, it was the second-fastest century in ODI World Cups (51 balls).
He scored an 88 against Afghanistan from No.4, as well as brisk knocks from six against England and Pakistan.
The 2019 World Cup was less fulfilling, where he batted from No.4 to 7, but averaged only 22.12, failing to cross 50 even once in a tournament riddled with starts, although the strike-rate was still an impressive 150.
In the 2023 World Cup, his double-century against Afghanistan was the runaway highlight, but few remember his whirlwind knock against the Netherlands, the fastest century ever in World Cup history off 40 balls.
With three centuries in World Cups, Maxwell is tied with Aaron Finch and Matthew Hayden as the joint fourth-most for Australia. He also hit 43 sixes in World Cups, the best for Australia, and the third-best tally ever (after Rohit Sharma and Chris Gayle).
With a five-innings cutoff, Maxwell's strike-rate is also the best for any batter in World Cup history, striking at 160.32 from 25 innings.
Best strike-rates in World Cup history
Minimum five innings
| Batter | Matches | Runs | Strike-rate |
| Glenn Maxwell (AUS) | 27 | 901 | 160.32 |
| Chris Lewis (ENG) | 9 | 81 | 155.76 |
| Mitchell Johnson (AUS) | 15 | 56 | 143.58 |
| Kieron Pollard (WI) | 8 | 190 | 138.68 |
| Andy Blignaut (ZIM) | 7 | 123 | 138.2 |
As a middle-order bruiser, Maxwell had few others matching him: among all batters to play at least 20 World Cup innings between Nos. 4 and 7, he is the only one with to strike above 100 and have an average above 50.
In fact, aside from World Cups but with the same filter, only Shahid Afridi had a better strike-rate among middle-order batters in ODI history (128.95), compared to Maxwell's (126.24).
Maxwell's all four centuries, and 17 out of 23 fifties, came in wins. Among all those batting at five or below, his tally of four centuries in wins is the joint-third best, behind Jos Buttler, Symonds and Tom Latham, and equal with AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni, among others.
Bowling, an underrated aspect
His bowling flew under the radar throughout his career, even though he became more regular with rolling his arm over. He finished with 77 ODI wickets, the fifth-most among all Australian ODI spinners. That included four four-wicket hauls, with only Shane Warne, Adam Zampa and Brad Hogg having more.
Overall, only four other Australians had both 3,000-plus runs and 75-plus wickets: Steve and Mark Waugh, Shane Watson and Symonds.
An even less talked-about feature is his fielding. Known to have a bullet arm, Maxwell looked equally effective inside the circle and on the boundary. In fact, he took roughly 0.61 catches every game, the highest among all Australian players to have played at least 100 ODIs.
Essentially, on his day, Maxwell could match, or better, the best in the world. His greatest hits will always be remembered more than his career as a whole, but that was just how Maxwell played his game. When it didn't come off, it looked fast and loose, but when he clicked, he burned the brightest of them all.
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