Australian hero Glenn Maxwell likely to sit out Cricket World Cup clash against Bangladesh
By
SABC Sport
11th November 2023
After his heroics earlier in the week, Glenn Maxwell looks set to watch his teammates from the sidelines when Australia take on Bangladesh in their final Cricket World Cup group match on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Maxwell hit a breathtaking 201 not out, the highest score by an Australian in a men's one-day international, as the team beat Afghanistan by three wickets and set up a semi-final against South Africa.
The 35-year-old all-rounder achieved the feat despite appearing in considerable discomfort at times, and ahead of Saturday's contest in Pune, Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori said: "He's definitely been in full recovery mode the last few days. I think we all saw the effects of the innings and in particular the heat.
"Today's a big day to see how he pulls up. We'll just see how he feels as the day continues on but it™s obviously been pretty hectic for him the last few days.
"It'll be how he feels - I don't think it'll be a fitness-test scenario. We understand that obviously now that the semi-final is pretty definitive in Kolkata that it will be a build towards that."
Steve Smith is expected to return after vertigo, while Sean Abbott could make his first appearance of the tournament.
Bangladesh, who were already eliminated, beat Sri Lanka in their last match on Monday, which saw Angelo Mathews become the first player to be timed out in 146 years of international cricket.
As well as making the appeal that led to that dismissal, and scoring 82, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan fractured a finger in the match and has been ruled out for Saturday.
Team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said in a statement on the Bangladesh Cricket Board's official website: "(Shakib) underwent an emergency x-ray in Delhi after the game which confirmed the fracture. Recovery is estimated at three to four weeks."
