Dubai: Glenn Maxwell, the Australia all-rounder, said he wasn't one for individual landmarks, after falling two short of a century while attempting to pinch an extra run in the fourth one-day international against Pakistan on Friday.
Maxwell's 82-ball 98 helped Australia secure a nervy six-run win in Dubai, giving the visitors a 4-0 lead in the five-match series. He put on a 134-run partnership with Alex Carey, which boosted the side from 140/5 to 277/7.
Pakistan looked set to chase that down after centuries from Abid Ali and Mohammad Rizwan they were 218/2 in the 42nd over. However, a collapse of epic proportions thereafter meant they finished on 271/8, with Nathan Coulter-Nile claiming 3/53, an ICC report on Saturday said.
But the enduring image of the match was Maxwell attempting the extra run late in the first innings, and he was lauded for his selflessness. "You can never accuse Glenn of being selfish," Aaron Finch, the captain, told the host broadcaster.
Maxwell himself said he valued team wins over individual feats. "I'm not going to look back on my career when I'm done and think about all the hundreds I've missed," he said. "I'm going to think about the wins we had."
"It would have been nice to get a hundred, but I was really happy with the way I played today. To put that partnership on with Alex Carey, to get us to a total we thought we could defend" I was really proud of the way I went about it.
The hundred doesn't really matter too much to me," he said. Maxwell has played a floater's role in Australia's ODI set-up over the last year, coming in anywhere between No. 3 and No. 7. He is still figuring out the nuances of each role, but said he was determined to bat deep into the innings this time.
I've made a lot of mistakes as a middle-order batter and not quite made it to the time when I can go attack,? he said. ?It was nice to be there for the back end and delay the bigger hitting until a little bit later, when we felt like we could comfortably get to a total we could defend."
The last two games I've come in a bit earlier when we've lost a few wickets back to back, and there's been a little bit of pressure on when I've gone out. It's actually been nice to get through that, be able to get myself in, and not just go out and play a cameo knock in the last 10 overs,? said Maxwell.The final ODI against Pakistan will be played in Dubai on Sunday.(UNI)
