Cricket stories that read like tales told in a pub

Maxwell, also nicknamed 'The Big Show', dedicates 16 pages to the match against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup

- Arun Janardhan

Glenn Maxwell's book, The Showman, with Adam Collins, is meant to read like a story told in a pub. That's how the Australian cricketer would like this book to be considered. That would seem like a very Aussie thing to do, and Maxwell is quintessentially Australian, checking some of the clichés one can think of.

A recent OTT show, Territory, set in the deep expanse of Australia, can give a visual sense of the Australian way of life, to get the context of the pub. Brawls are common, guns are pulled out with impunity, conflict is a rite of passage—even if you cut it some slack meant for fictional television. Maxwell does this with words, telling us why a scrap is so integral to their way of life, why aggression is a mark of toughness, and what makes the Australian cricketer so difficult to beat.

Maxwell built his reputation in cricket as a white-ball or limited-overs specialist, an unconventional slogger of the ball who could win matches on his own—and just as easily throw it away. The defining moment of his career came in the 2023 World Cup in India when Australia, by all accounts struggling a bit in the series, found themselves in trouble against Afghanistan in a must-win match.

Coming in to bat at four wickets down for 49 in the ninth over (and later 91-7), chasing 291, Maxwell stitched a 202-run partnership with captain Pat Cummins that took Australia to victory. Maxwell, cramping, barely able to run—and sometimes stand—scored an unbeaten 128-ball 201 while Cummins' contribution to their partnership was a mere 12 runs.