Cricket World Cup: Glenn Maxwell out of England game after falling off golf cart

The star all-rounder has been forced into Cricket Australia’s concussion protocols, likely granting a reprieve for batter Marnus Labuschagne to retain his spot in the XI, however Maxwell is expected to be available for Australia’s next match against Afghanistan in Mumbai next Wednesday.

Australian coach Andrew McDonald explained what transpired following a round of golf involving Maxwell and several teammates during the Aussies’ designated time off.

“In transporting him back from the clubhouse to the team bus, Glenn Maxwell came off the back of a car and has suffered a small concussion, so he will go into concussion protocols for the next period of time and will unfortunately miss the England game,” McDonald said.

“There’ll be no replacement (in the squad) as such, he’ll go into six to eight days concussion protocol. So they said that takes into account the England game, he’ll be unavailable for that game. And then clearly within the squad we’ve got some players who become available Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green’s there available as well, but we haven’t made that decision as yet.

“The guys were ferried off on carts. Glenn and a few other players jumped on the back of carts and unfortunately he lost his grip on the way back to the team bus and sustained that injury. Over the last couple of days he’s been assessed.

“We feel as though it’ll be a relatively straightforward return to play protocol with where he’s at at the moment.”

It is the second successive year in which an Australian player’s involvement in a World Cup has been affected by a golf injury, with Josh Inglis having missed last year’s Twenty20 World Cup with a hand injury suffered playing a round.

England’s Jonny Bairstow also broke his leg in a golf mishap last year.

The loss of Maxwell is a double blow for Australia given his supreme batting power and handy off-spin.

However all-rounder Stoinis is set to be available again from a calf issue and shapes as Maxwell’s likely replacement.

It means Labuschagne will hold his spot. Labuschagne earlier on Wednesday outlined his case to stay in the team.

Though he played a steadying knock against Sri Lanka and made 62 off 47 against the Netherlands, Labuschagne was bumped down to No. 5 when Head returned against New Zealand in Dharamasala.

The Queenslander is averaging 33.5 for the tournament at a strike rate of 77.30 but said he had worked to play more aggressively.

“It’s definitely been a refocus. It’s been something that I’ve sort of gone ‘okay, I really need to address starting my innings’ and being really positive taking the game on, but just trusting my own game and doing it in my own way,” Labuschagne said.

“I feel like I’m playing well. I feel like the situations that I’ve come across, I’ve navigated well. And that looks a little bit different because you know, getting 40 off (60) against Sri Lanka, you take that in isolation, without the situation of the game, you’re like, ‘oh, that’s really slow.’ But that’s just what we needed, we needed to make sure we get ourselves on the board, get into a good position and then obviously we got the net run rate as well when Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) and Stoin came out and smacked them at the end. So for me personally, I feel like I’m batting well, one-day cricket, especially in the middle order, you’re not going to be able to score runs every time. Disappointed with last game (18 off 26 against NZ), I think I could have done a little bit more there. But at the end of the day, you know, we got a good start. And I was trying to keep the momentum going. And yeah, didn’t come off.”

Labuschagne had said he wasn’t sure if he would hold his spot.

“I hope so. I’m not a selector but I think over the last 13 games I’ve added a lot of value to the team especially in the middle overs. I think we know what’s important in this country is how you play the middle overs. And I think I can add a lot of value. So I hope so. But once again, that’s not my job. It’s someone else’s job. So I’ll just keep making sure if I get an opportunity I keep scoring runs,” Labuschagne said.

“At the end of the day, you need to keep scoring runs, right. You need to keep scoring runs, you need to keep winning your team games, and I’ve got to keep trying to do that.

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“The selectors have to weigh up the value for them if they the extra batter or the all-rounder and that’s not my job. We haven’t seen the conditions yet. So we’re not sure what that looks like, but I know if I’m picked I’m the right person for that role in the middle order.”

Meanwhile Labuschagne became the latest Australian player to downplay any residual tension from the Jonny Bairstow stumping at Lord’s ahead of a rematch with the struggling Old Enemy.

“I couldn’t care less who we’re playing. We really just want to beat England. I mean, I can’t imagine anything’s gonna come up with Johnny, it’s dead and buried. Something that we don’t we don’t really talk about it we don’t discuss.”