Glenn Maxwell’s BBL coach believes the Melbourne Stars icon has more to give amidst speculation regarding his international playing future
Melbourne Stars coach Peter Moores is adamant Australian allrounder Glenn Maxwell remains a pivotal “driver” in the organisation’s pursuit of a maiden men’s Big Bash title.
The third-highest run-scorer in BBL history re-signed with the Stars in January, knocking back significant interest from rival clubs by committing to a fresh two-year deal.
Despite scoring just 76 runs across 11 matches last season, Moores told cricket.com.au in February that the 37-year-old is still a key figure in his squad for next summer.
“What I love about the whole way ‘Maxi’ plays his cricket is his passion for the game,” he said. “Maxi has epitomised the Stars and the thought of winning it without him in the team would be a real shame, because he’s put so much into it. He’s box office to watch. It wasn’t his tournament this year, but that happens a bit in T20.”
Having opted out of the IPL in 2026, ending a 13-season stint in the lucrative T20 competition, Maxwell is currently playing in the Pakistan Super League for first time, representing Hyderabad Kingsmen.
It’s the veteran’s first tournament since he took part in Australia’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign in Sri Lanka last February, and he turned out for the first time on Friday night, making one.
While questions remain around his T20 International future, Moores said he had no concerns over Maxwell’s passion to drive the Stars forward in the Big Bash.
“I don’t think Glenn’s ever played a game of T20 cricket for the Stars where he’s not put it all on the line and wanted to play,” he said. “Ultimately that is what we want from our player. You can feel his frustration when something doesn’t quite go right or someone makes a mistake. But you’d much rather that total engagement in a game than somebody who’s an absolute top-flight player, playing the game, just doing lip service to another game.”
An eventful 12-month period in the mercurial Maxwell’s career started in May last year, when a fractured finger brought a forgettable Indian Premier League campaign, where he made just 48 runs in seven matches, to an early end.
After announcing his retirement from ODI cricket in June, Maxwell made his eighth and most recent T20 hundred later that month for the Washington Freedom in America’s Major League Cricket tournament.
The Victorian has continued to play T20 Internationals since, including an away series against the West Indies last July, before two home series against South Africa (August) and India (November), prior to the T20 World Cup (February).
But the former Stars skipper has encountered major struggles in the format, making just one half-century in his last 31 T20 innings.
Understanding the difficulties Maxwell has encountered in recent times, Moores admitted that a role change could be on the cards to get the most out of his star man, who has more than 500 games of T20 experience.
“You could play Glenn anywhere from one to seven,” he said. “I get led a little bit by Glenn himself and where he feels he’s at in his game and where it’s going, and sometimes how the game is going, but we do know that if Glenn’s in for 20 balls, he’s going to influence the game strongly.”
Only twice in KFC BBL|15 did Maxwell face 20 or more balls in an innings. Moores wants to ensure the club’s most capped player feels like he can impact each and every game.
“Glenn wants to play when there’s situations for him to win,” he said. “(When) there’s a challenge out there that he’s got to try and negotiate and get sorted to get us over the line … I think that really helps him now in his career.
“I think he always feels a bit frustrated if he doesn’t feel like he’s had enough time at the crease. In the Hobart game (last season’s Knockout final where the Stars lost by three runs in a rain-affected fixture), you look back and think, ‘could we have got him in earlier?’
“It’s always difficult when you’ve got that level of player in your side, but we always want to see him at the crease. We want to see him doing well and he has done that for so many years for the Stars, so it’s great to get him back on board.”
