Men’s ODI WC: Been pretty hectic for Maxwell in the last few days, says Vettori on his availability against Bangladesh

Pune: After hitting an astonishing 201 not out in a come-from-behind win over Afghanistan, Glenn Maxwell is still feeling sore and bowling coach Daniel Vettori said the last few days have been hectic for the big-hitting all-rounder to recover from that unforgettable clash in Mumbai.

Australia’s final group match is against Bangladesh at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Saturday morning and Maxwell, who got body cramps while taking the five-time champions to a thrilling win, is yet to practice for the match which is effectively a dead rubber, having sealed their semifinals spot.

“He’s definitely been in full recovery mode the last few days. We all saw the effects of the innings and in particular the heat. So, today’s a big day, see how he pulls up. But obviously we’ve had a couple of days off so there’s been no training.”

“He’s not here today but we’ll just see how he sort of feels as the day continues. But it’s obviously been pretty hectic for him the last few days. It’ll be how he feels – I don’t think it’ll be a fitness test scenario.”

“We understand that obviously now that the semifinal is pretty definitive in Kolkata on November 16, that it will be a build towards that. He does have a track record of being able to bounce back pretty quickly, even with some time away from the game. So, it will depend on how the day goes and then make a decision. Being a day game as well, probably means tonight they’ll make the call,” said Vettori in the pre-match press conference.

Australia could also consider bringing in fast-bowling all-rounder Sean Abbott for his first game of the tournament, and rest either of captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for Saturday’s clash.

“I think if you take it all the way back to the start to try and get those three fast bowlers through nine games in a short period of time, we always probably presume that that would be a tough challenge. So Sean was always in the picture as a potential replacement for one of them.”

“So I think that’ll come into the equation once again I think just weighing up how everyone comes through these last few days. But I don’t think it’ll be a case of trying to play a game just for the sake of it – it’ll be a case of if one of those three fast bowlers needs a bit of a break,” added Vettori, the former New Zealand left-arm spinner.

In terms of spin-bowling department, leg-spinner Adam Zampa is leading the wicket-takers charts in the tournament with 20 wickets from eight matches at an average of 19.20.

It comes after Zampa struggled with neck and back spasms while being off-colour in matches against India and South Africa, before bouncing back with four-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Netherlands.

“It was obviously a very difficult start through injuries and illness to be able to actually play. Probably the first three games were a bit of a – well it was an amazing effort because I think he was pretty close to pulling out against Pakistan. Fitness test right up to just before the toss. So, to see him get through that has been the starting point.”

“But I think his control of his length has been the best that I’ve seen in this period of time, particularly through those three games where he took four wickets in a row and then against England, I think his length of control. We all know the skills and the variations, but his ability to actually just land the ball on the spot time and time again gave most teams limited opportunities to attack him.”

“In the England game, he didn’t go for a boundary; he might not have gone for anything more than a single against two left-handers – Stokes and Moeen who are very good players to spin. I think that’s been the testament in that and it is all about the length of control for him because all the other skills are there. But when you combine that with that aspect of the game as well, he’s almost unplayable,” concluded Vettori.

–IANS