Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was at his menacing best against England in the final ODI on Wednesday as his match-winning century against defending champions sealed the ODI series for his country.
Maxwell, who scored 108 from 90 balls, adding 212 runs with Alex Carey (106 from 114), credited the clarity provided by captain Aaron Finch for his match-winning knock against England. When Maxwell reached 45, he became the fastest to batter to post 3,000 career runs in terms of balls faced in ODI history.
"Every time you get a chance to play in this Australian team you take whatever role you're given. The really good thing is, even in the lockdown period, I was training with Finchy and we were able to talk about my role and certain things," Maxwell said.
"I just had so much clarity on what he expected of me in that role and I think that gave me really good clarity out there. Just knowing I had the backing of him is awesome. He's been great for this group over here, he's kept us all together, all 21 of us in the hub here. Whether it be in the field or with his batters he's been outstanding," Maxwell added.
Maxwell went onto call the series win over the hosts and defending champions England a "massive" stepping stone for his side as Australia now targets the 2023 World Cup, in India.
"To take them down on home soil when they have been playing pretty consistent cricket over here and for us to start our summer off after a long time in lockdown with a series win against them was pretty incredible for this group," he said.
"We've worked so hard since coming together and it is just great that everyone could do the work back at home and when we got over here throughout the practice matches and training to get ourselves up to take on the world's best and beat them on their home soil."
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