Maxwell’s double hundred was a throwback to Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar’s epic 194 against India in the 1997 Independence Cup. However, unlike Anwar, Maxwell didn’t have the luxury of the now-scrapped rule of allowing an injured batsman a runner. 

The 35-year-old willed his beaten body to cross over for singles. He even collapsed to the ground once, but, grimacing in pain, he stood up. He couldn’t bend his legs, or stretch his body, but his hands were in frenzy, as they kept carting the ball around the park, and crashing Afghanistan’s hopes. 

“I hadn’t done much high-intensity exercise in the heat. It was quite hot during the day, and it certainly got to me today,” Maxwell would say later. He remained modest: “It would have been nice to say it was chanceless, but I led a charmed life, was dropped a few times. There have been occasions when I have been dropped and didn’t make the most of it, so to make the most of it is probably the most pleasing thing.” 

During the 2019 World Cup in England, Maxwell was in hospital after being hit by a bouncer in the nets. Struggling for runs, he was frustrated. Such was his frame of mind that he hoped the injury was serious. “I thought it would be my ticket out of disappointment,” he would later say. “I felt like I was 100 per cent to blame (for the failure of the team). I would look around the dressing room and wonder about others thinking ‘If only Max had turned up for this tournament’.”

Maxwell had once opened up about his mental demons in a podcast. During the last World Cup, he had a meltdown. He spoke about being in a room with his then fiancée, now wife, Vini Raman, when he broke down. 

That was because he was named in the team that was to play England in the semi-final. Maxwell said he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to take the field. Five months after the incident, he told the world he was suffering from depression and took a break. 

He was put on to sports psychiatrist Ranjit Menon, an external consultant for Cricket Australia. From being barely able to get through the World Cup last time to becoming Australia’s saviour, Maxwell has come a long way.