Glenn Maxwell opens up on his struggles with mental health
Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell, found himself wanting his arm to be broken during the ICC Cricket World Cup last year, if it meant he could get a break from the game. He did not realise it at the time but the right-handed batsman was battling mild anxiety and depression.
His troubles with mental health led to Maxwell eventually taking that break from cricket for a little more than a month. The 31-year-old, however, revealed how bad it actually got before he made the decision to step away from the game.
Both he and Shaun Marsh had been struck while batting during a hostile net session before the Aussies’ final league match against South Africa.
Maxwell went on to speak about how the two of them probably hoped for different results while waiting for their reports to come in.
"I knew he (Marsh) was in trouble when he came in, and immediately I felt bad for him," the Kings XI Punjab middle-order batsman told the Ordineroli Speaking podcast. "I just thought I hope he's OK, and if anything, I wish we could swap our news (suspecting Marsh's arm was broken). We went to the hospital together and we were both sitting there, I think both hoping for opposite news.”
Maxwell revealed that he was angry at other people when he got hit by the ball and that didn’t really make sense to him. The Australian thought he needed a break and this felt like an easy escape to him because he thought he was going to be dropped anyway.
Maxwell played in his team’s last two matches in the tournament before continuing on what was a downward spiral.
He then entered the T20s against Sri Lanka knowing that he would be taking a break from the game. While the swashbuckling batsman scored 60-odd in under 30 balls, Maxwell said he did not enjoy batting in that match.
The explosive right-hander made his return to competitive cricket as captain of the Melbourne Stars and was named in the BBL’s team of the tournament.
Big Show, as he is popularly known, is doing a lot better now and recently got engaged to partner, Vini Raman.