Glenn Maxwell retires from international cricket after 14 years and three World Cup wins

Glenn Maxwell has retired from international cricket, bringing down the curtain on a 14-year career in which the Australian all-rounder became one of the most dangerous white-ball players of his era.

The 38-year-old leaves with 7 Tests, 149 ODIs and 130 T20Is for Australia. Across those 286 matches he made 10 international centuries and took 136 wickets with his off-spin, a useful second string that often let his captains juggle a bowling attack.

Maxwell’s place in the game’s memory rests above all on one afternoon in Mumbai. At the 2023 World Cup, with Australia in deep trouble against Afghanistan, he hit an unbeaten double century while barely able to move because of cramp. It is still talked about as one of the finest one-day innings ever played.

He was part of three World Cup-winning squads: the 50-over titles of 2015 and 2023 and the T20 World Cup of 2021. Indian crowds knew him well, both from those tournaments and from years in the IPL, where his switch hits and reverse sweeps made him a box-office draw.

His exit leaves Australia looking for a new finisher in the shortest format. Few players have been able to change a match as quickly, from either end of an innings.

For a player who so often looked in a hurry at the crease, Maxwell built his record slowly and stubbornly. He first played for Australia in 2012 and was still being picked well into his late thirties, long after many of his generation had moved on.