Maxwell relieved to be named in Australia WC squad

Glenn Maxwell feared for his World Cup chances after this bizarre dismissal against Brisbane Heat. 

Glenn Maxwell, Australia's big-hitting allrounder, has admitted that he was relieved after being named in the 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup, 2015, to be jointly co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The Melbourne Stars player feared for his place in the squad after a prolonged run of bad form, culminating with his bizarre dismissal, backing away, and getting clean bowled during a Big Bash match against Brisbane Heat, which he described as "the worst feeling I've had in my life".

The 26-year-old was included in the 15-man squad, which was officially named on Sunday, but the star allrounder said he wasn't sure of being picked after his late slump in batting form. "You have no idea. I had plenty of doubts obviously with the last month I've had," Maxwell told radio SEN on Tuesday morning.

Maxwell showed some glimpses of his destructive ability during a 44-ball 66 in the Melbourne derby match against the Renegades on Saturday night, a day before the squad was officially unveiled. Having got the call from the national selectors, before the match helped him calm his nerves. "I just wanted that phone call so desperately, and to get it before that Big Bash game, it was extremely relieving," he said.

Maxwell has endured plenty of criticism off-late for his poor form, but believes much of those has been unwarranted. "I understand people being disappointed in people's performance, but I think people have to understand that T20 is such a hit-and-miss game. You're not going to score runs even half the time.It has been frustrating having so many people jump down my throat because I'm not making runs, but it's almost the way T20 goes," he said.

Maxwell recalled his bizarre dismissal in the Big Bash match against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba, where he backed away to a straight ball and was clean bowled. "That's the easiest thing for me to talk about, because that's when I was actually feeling as clear as possible," he said. "It was just one of those things, as soon as he (Ryan Duffield) let the ball go, I made the decision 'oh that's going to be a wide I'm going to leave it.' Halfway down I saw it start swinging back and that horrible sickening moment when you realize 'oh no this is going to hit the stumps and I'm not going to play a shot and it's going to bowl me'," he added.

Maxwell isn't too fussed about his batting position during the World Cup and hopes to play a crucial role for Australia. "In one-day cricket, it has to be situational, I think. If there's a time when there's 15 to 20 overs left, I think that's the perfect time for me to go in," he concluded.