Born on October 14, 1988, the Victorian-born cricketer has made a splash in international cricket with his ability to clear the ropes with relative ease. In fact, Maxwell is a complete package, as he is also an electric fielder and bowls off-spin.
Nicknamed as the 'Big Show', Maxwell broke into the Victorian side in the 2009-10 season. Maxwell holds the record for the fastest ever fifty in domestic cricket, scoring it in just 19 balls against Tasmania in 2011.
His all-round ability impressed the Indian IPL side, Delhi, during the 2011-12 season, but he failed to make any sort of impact. He also represented Hampshire in the Friends Provident T20 tournament.
With his big-hitting abilities, it was not a surprise when he was selected to play for Australia during the tour to the Middle East for a series of ODIs against Afghanistan and Pakistan. He failed to make a mark on debut against Afghanistan but showed his worth when he steered Australia to a series-clinching victory during the third ODI with a crafty 56. It was followed by a lean period in the home ODIs against Sri Lanka. He was promoted to open the innings when Australia were chasing a modest score of 71 against West Indies in the first ODI in Perth in February 2012 and he cashed in, scoring a quickfire fifty.
Maxwell was selected for the Test tour of India in 2013 and made his debut as the second spinner in the Hyderabad Test. He failed with the bat but grabbed his first Test wicket when he dismissed Murali Vijay. He went on to finish with four wickets for the innings.
Maxwell also became a millionaire when he was bought for $ 1 million by Mumbai during the 2013 IPL auctions, the highest paid player in that round of the auctions. He was later bought by Punjab in the IPL auctions in 2014. The right-handed middle-order batsman threatened opposition ranks at the 2014 T20 WC with his aggressive style of play and scored fighting cameos against Pakistan and West Indies. Maxwell then carried his rich vein of form into IPL 7, threatening the opposition with his aggressive style of batting. He amassed over 550 runs, including four fifties and was out in 90s thrice.
His exploits in the IPL made him a certainty in Australia's limited-overs squad. Apart from doing well with the bat, he also bowled a double wicket maiden over, bowling the last over in the third ODI against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi to help Australia win the game by one run. Although, his form with the bat dipped soon after, the selectors named him in the 2015 World Cup squad because of his match-winning abilities.
Maxwell scored 324 runs in the World Cup, which included a ton and two fifties. His century came against Sri Lanka in the quarter-final, a knock that earned him the Man of the Match award. It was also his maiden ton in ODIs.
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