Bang, bang Maxwell’s silver hammer came down to torment the Sri Lankans. Glenn Maxwell put on one of his biggest shows in front of a packed SCG to enable the hosts to confirm their place in the quarter-finals.
Australia won by 64 runs after a memorable feast of strokeplay, in which Kumar Sangakkara hit his third consecutive hundred of the tournament at a run a ball. Sangakkara was routinely magnificent but even he was overshadowed by Maxwell.
The precocious Victorian struck the second fastest century in World Cup history in 51 balls – only Kevin O’Brien’s 50-ball wonder against England in Bangalore in 2011 was quicker – and thus Australia could post a formidable target of 377.
Until Maxwell’s appearance at the end of the 32nd over Australia, on 175-3, were on course for something merely substantial at the SCG, which was at its magnificent best. Every seat was taken and the entire Bill O’Reilly Stand was filled with Sri Lankan supporters with their flags, their drums and trombones and their lungs at full throttle.
Elsewhere the Aussie fans in their yellow shirts and caps – although they always insist they are gold – were equally determined to enjoy a balmy Sydney evening.
Initially they witnessed Sri Lanka remove the Australian openers cheaply. David Warner spooned Lasith Malinga’s slower ball to cover, Aaron Finch seemed to set off from his crease before Seekkuge Prasanna had started his run-up and was stumped. Steve Smith and Michael Clarke consolidated in a rather English sort of way - though that is not meant to be derogatory. They bided their time content with plenty of wily singles against the spinners on a pitch that was dry and relatively slow.
They put on 134 together in 23 overs before departing in consecutive overs and in hindsight they went at the right time – for Australia. Clarke was bowled by Malinga and the catch to dismiss Smith, taken by Thisara Perera running back from mid-off, was sensational on a weekend of sensations when the World Cup has burst into life in Auckland and Hobart as well as Sydney.
Now Maxwell produced his magic. He was sometimes able to send the ball over the ropes with a little flick of the wrists – and there are proper boundaries at the SCG. There were reverse hits, inside out drives plus the odd agricultural swipe. Once he gets going bowlers are neutered just by the prospect of bowling to him. Along with AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum and David Warner, Maxwell is transforming the art of batting in the 21st century, forever exploring new ways to torment frazzled bowlers. On Sunday only Malinga was able to keep him quiet for more than two balls at a time.
Maxwell’s partner in a blistering alliance of 160 in 14 overs was, surprisingly, Shane Watson. He had been dropped for Australia’s previous game but was recalled, effectively in the place of Mitchell Marsh, as a No6 and an auxiliary seamer. He enjoyed himself in his new batting role, handing the strike back to Maxwell at the earliest opportunity before producing some mighty blows himself in a quickfire 67. In their last 15 overs Australia amassed 177, surely far too many to allow a tight contest.
However the Sri Lankans, after a ropy start to the tournament in Christchurch, are not easily daunted. After the early loss of Lahiru Thirimanne there was a declaration of intent from Tillekeratne Dilshan. He hit every ball of Mitchell Johnson’s third over for four, a wondrous mixture of drive and pulls, after which the Bill O’Reilly stand started to believe.
At the other end with the precision and calm of a championship snooker player Sangakkara manoeuvred the white ball around the green baize of the SCG. Apart from everything else where does he get the energy from? The World Cup, it seems inspires cricketers all around the globe – with the odd exception. Just about every gap was clinically exploited until he was caught on the square leg boundary.
Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal then added a rapid 80 to keep the game alive. However once Chandimal was forced, almost against his will, to retire hurt with a leg injury the innings came to a swift conclusion. Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner had kept their nerve impressively when the Sri Lankans were on the rampage. Australia, destined for an Adelaide quarter-final once they have played Scotland next weekend, will now take some beating. The rest of the world will be trying to work out how to deal with Maxwell.
