Recent ODI retiree pays back Ricky Ponting’s faith with his eighth career T20 century and first in the USA
Glenn Maxwell may have called time on his one-day international career but he’s shown his T20 brilliance remains undimmed as he hit a thrilling, landmark century in Major League Cricket.
‘Maxi’, who announced his decision to depart the international 50-over scene at the start of the month, demonstrated why he will be a key figure at the T20 World Cup next year as he became the first Australian to crash a ton in the third season of the US competition.
Putting on his inimitable best for champions Washington Freedom, captain Maxwell, who had a wretched time in the Indian Premier League before a broken finger ruled him out of the business end of Punjab Kings’ season, smashed 106no off just 49 balls as they crushed Los Angeles Knight Riders by 113 runs.
Maxi at his absolute BEST 🔥
Glenn Maxwell smashed a sensational century, the first in his MLC career, and it couldn’t have come in cleaner fashion! 💪 pic.twitter.com/bqGTmfp4nm
— Cognizant Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) June 18, 2025
Coming in at No.6 with the Freedom in some bother at 4-68 in the eighth over on Tuesday, a typically thunderous Maxwell affair, featuring 13 sixes and a couple of fours, helped blitz Freedom to 5-208 before the Washington bowlers then skittled LA for 95.
It was the 36-year-old’s eighth T20 ton in all.
Maxwell was delighted to get back among the runs again after scoring just 48 in his six IPL innings for the Kings – and reckoned he owed a big score to his great friend and coach at both franchises, Ricky Ponting.
“It felt like just a bit of time out in the middle was all I needed to feel that confidence coming back,” said Maxwell.
“I’ve probably let him (Ponting) down in a few of the tournaments that we’ve played together. It’s nice that last year we were able to have success in the Freedom together, and it was a shame I couldn’t be around for a lot of the back end of the IPL where I broke my finger.
“I think in this tournament, to be captain and play under him, I feel like we’ve got a great opportunity to hopefully add to last year’s trophy.”
At the start of June, Maxwell called it a day after 149 ODIs, a career that featured surely the greatest innings of all-time in the format, his amazing unbeaten double ton that lifted Australia to a critical victory over Afghanistan at the 2023 World Cup.
There were echoes of that magic knock in the far less pressurised situation of an MLC game at the Oakland Coliseum as he dealt almost exclusively in sixes, lambasting the seventh T20 century in the tournament’s short history while helping them plunder 124 in the final 10 overs.
His fellow Aussie teammate Mitchell Owen had also kicked off the fun with 32 off 11 balls as opener before he later delivered with the ball too, taking 3-18 to help dismantle the LA response.
