Million-dollar man Glenn “Big Show” Maxwell has transformed himself into cricket’s “No Show” with an embarrassing BBL dismissal in the Melbourne Stars’s thrilling one run loss to the Brisbane Heat.
Promoted to No.3 for the winless Stars, Maxwell lasted just one ball when he charged left-arm quick Ryan Duffield only to shoulder arms and watch the inswinger cannon into his leg-stump.
The Australian limited-overs allrounder’s look of disbelief was matched by television commentators Adam Gilchrist and Damien Fleming who were dumb-struck by a “leave” that had most in the pro-Brisbane Heat crowd of 26,788 doubled over in laughter.
Gilchrist finally called the dismissal “one of the bigger brain fades in cricket history” while former Test selector Jamie Cox tweeted: “Just when I thought I’d seen everything. OMG!”
While an injured Rob Quiney (45 not out) belted the Stars to within one of the Heat’s 8-164 for their third straight loss, the major talking point was Maxwell’s dismissal and his dreadful form slump.
A World Cup certainty at the start of the summer, the Victorian is now under pressure to keep his place in Australia’s 15-man squad for the upcoming showpiece one-day tournament.
A $1 million signing in the IPL for the past two years, Maxwell’s stocks have crashed dramatically in a worrying run of outs in 2014.
He hasn’t passed 30 in his last nine bats against the white ball, while the explosive big-hitter’s last 19 T20 innings have produced scores of less than 15.
Despite a late-innings fightback by James Faulkner (34) and Quiney, the Stars didn’t recover from Duffield’s new-ball heroics.
Drawcard Andrew Flintoff enjoyed some big moments with both bat and ball – bashing 14 runs in the Heat’s penultimate over and taking two wickets in an over after Faulkner threatened to steal the game.
But the former England captain was also taken for 21 in his last over by Quiney who had retired hurt earlier in the innings with a groin strain.
Needing 16 off the last over, and then five off the last ball, Quiney skied it to within metres of the mid-wicket rope and ran three in a thrilling finish.
Flintoff was a relieved man after the game, especially as he thought Quiney had sent the last ball over the rope.
“That second last over of mine was a real shocker – I was nearly going home after that!” he told Network Ten.
“It was too close at the end but we’ll take these points.
“It was a big game for us after we lost the first one so it’s nice to get on the board.”
