Maxwell ruled out of NZ T20 series with wrist injury; Philippe called up as replacement

Mount Maunganui, Sep 30

Cricket Australia confirmed on Tuesday morning that the 36-year-old allrounder will miss the trans-Tasman series, with wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe called in as his replacement.

Maxwell was struck on the wrist while bowling in the nets to big-hitting allrounder Mitchell Owen at Tauranga’s Bay Oval. The blow fractured his forearm, forcing him out of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy T20s, which begin Wednesday. He will return home for a specialist review to determine the timeline for his comeback.

Recalled allrounder Matthew Short, batting in an adjoining net at the time, recounted the incident: “I saw it out of the corner of my eye. We’re training under a marquee, so it’s really echo-y and loud. I saw (Owen) smoked it and then the aftermath – it hit Maxi on the wrist. It didn’t sound good. (Owen) is not the guy you want to be bowling to in T20 training, that’s for sure. Maxi’s been there and gone through that (serious injuries) a couple of times now – he was a bit disappointed but it’s just like any other injury. I’m sure he’ll get through it.”

It is another untimely setback for Maxwell, who fractured his leg in a freak accident at a birthday party three years ago and was also concussed during the 2023 World Cup after falling from a golf cart. He had started this domestic summer brightly, smashing a 73-ball century for Victoria in the One-Day Cup and an unbeaten 62 off 36 balls in Australia’s most recent T20I against South Africa.

Marcus Stoinis, who returns to the T20 squad after nearly a year, acknowledged the importance of these games in building towards next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka: “It’s probably the start of that. I’m sure there’s a picture in the head of the selectors of what they want to do and how they want the team lining up come that World Cup, so I think it’s going to be a nice build in for everyone. It’s always a good challenge (playing New Zealand). They’re a great team and they perform so well in the big tournaments as well, so it’s definitely something we look forward to.”

Philippe, who replaces Maxwell, comes into the squad in fine touch after recent Australia A performances, including a 123 not out and a half-century in India earlier this month. The 28-year-old, who has 12 T20Is to his name, last featured for Australia in December 2023.

Maxwell’s absence adds to a growing list of unavailable stars. Josh Inglis was earlier ruled out with a calf strain, replaced by Alex Carey. Pat Cummins is sitting out to rehabilitate a back issue, Mitchell Starc has retired from T20 internationals, and Cameron Green is playing Sheffield Shield cricket to focus on his return to bowling before the Ashes.

The T20 series against New Zealand begins on October 1 at Bay Oval, with subsequent matches on October 3 and 4 at the same venue.

New Zealand squad: Michael Bracewell (c), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi

Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matt Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

— IANS