Champions Trophy: Australian star Glenn Maxwell reveals motivation for tournament in Pakistan

It has been labelled cricket’s zombie tournament. One that has come back from the dead more than once and has been known to operate in a slumber. But Australian star Glenn Maxwell has never won a Champions Trophy, despite claiming almost every other prize in white-ball cricket, and it means he is up and about this time around. Unsuccessful campaigns in 2013 and 2017 — before the tournament was put on hiatus — are spurring Maxwell on at this month’s campaign in Pakistan. In an interview with The West Australian, the veteran all-rounder said he is confident Australia’s fresh-faced squad has enough to win the Champions Trophy for the first time since 2009. Maxwell was fresh into Australia’s team for the 2013 tournament — he had debuted less than a year before — and played two matches for 61 runs. He played three matches, but scored just 20 in 2017, where Australia didn’t make it out of their group. “I can’t speak for everyone else, but personally for myself it was a tournament I grew up watching and used to love seeing Australia compete in,” he told The West. “I was lucky enough to compete in and be a part of two editions in 2013 and 2017, unsuccessful editions. “So it is one of those trophies I’d love to be able to win and look back on at the end of my career and be really proud of.” He was the hero of the 2023 one-day World Cup, the Twenty20 edition in 2022 and has played for Australia for 13 years. But turmoil in Pakistan and a series of Test team snubs has meant Maxwell has never travelled to Pakistan. Australia’s batters are bracing for wickets that won’t turn quite as much as they did on this month’s tour of Sri Lanka, but that can skid on, particularly with evening dew — as New Zealand and Pakistan learnt in Wednesday’s tournament opener. “There are lots of discussions about new conditions, I don’t think everyone has been here to Pakistan,” Maxwell said. “They seem to be a little bit skiddy, a little bit low, not as much big spin as we had in Sri Lanka. There is the tendency for the ball to skid under the bat a little bit. “It is, I suppose, going to change a few techniques and you’ve got to make sure you are right on your defence, always covering your stumps and I think that is going to be the biggest change. “I think guys are going to come up with their individual plans based on what the first wicket looks like. We’re hoping the conditions are quite similar to what we’ve been facing at training.” Maxwell said his role in the new-look batting unit is unlikely to change and he will float through the order. “Hopefully (I can) take the game as deep as I possibly can and control those back-end overs, which could be quite important,” he said. The spinning all-rounder is the oldest member of Australia’s squad. He believes enough players have been in the country’s one-day team, despite its dominance, in recent years for this group to contend. “We have certainly been fortunate to blood young guys — or not even young guys, some new talent — into the group at different times and to have experience around those guys when they have got their opportunity to play for Australia,” Maxwell said. “It’s been nice to sort of see those young guys come in and have enough experience to almost curb them a little bit and have a little bit of a safety net when they do play for Australia and give them that experience that when they do get their opportunity to play in a tournament like this they are hopefully ready to go. “We feel extremely confident in what we’ve got here to be able to do the job.” Australia take on England in their opening match on Saturday evening (AWST). They then play South Africa on Tuesday and Afghanistan — the team that copped Maxwell’s barely-believable double-century at the most recent World Cup — next Friday. Star batter Travis Head says Australia can’t afford a slip up early in the tournament, like they have had at recent World Cups. “It’s been spoken about,” he said of their recent hiccups at big events. “But it’s not trying to build anticipation or anxiety around that. It’s about going out and executing what we do well, being relaxed and calm around things. “You don’t have the luxury of a World Cup with a lot of games to work into a tournament and can pinpoint games that are maybe more important than others when you’re navigating through tournament play. “Here it’s pretty cut-throat, it’s pretty much knock-out, and you’ve got to start well.” ICC Champions Trophy – it’s on Prime. All ICC Champions Trophy matches are available to Prime members in Australia at no additional cost to their membership.