Glenn Maxwell Highlights Steve Smith, David Warner's Importance At World Cup

Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell has said the return of Steve Smith and David Warner will boost Australia’s chances in the forthcoming World Cup. Australia are the defending champions but are not one of the clear favourites for the trophy. They had failed to win a single series last year and started the ongoing year with a defeat at home at the hands of India.

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However, the five-time world champions seem to have found their mojo back just at the right time. They proved their World Cup credentials by beating India 3-2 that too after losing the first two games of the series. In their following outing, they whitewashed Pakistan 5-0 to roar back to form. And Maxwell now feels Smith and Warner’s addition will give the team more experience at the World Cup.

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Both Smith and Warner made it to the World Cup squad despite not playing an international game since March 2018. The two were banned for a year for the ball-tampering scandal.

“It’s great to have their experience — experience is going to go a long way to winning this thing,” Maxwell told news.com.au. “Guys that have played in these tournaments, it’s so valuable to the side to know what to expect when you get to tournament play.

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“Peaking at the right time, making sure you’re mentally fresh and certain times as well. They’re not easy tournaments for six weeks, you can be up and down emotionally as well and it can swallow you up at some times.

“It’s not an easy tournament to be part of but if you can find a way to talk through your experiences with the younger guys and help them through at different times, it’s going to be so valuable for us,” added Maxwell.

Smith and Warner, meanwhile, recently turned up for Australia in the warm up matches with New Zealand. Warner, who was the top-scorer in this year’s IPL, failed to deliver on the expected lines. Smith, however, hit 89 not out and 91 not out in two of the three games. Smith and Warner along with Maxwell were very important members of the team that had won the World Cup in 2015. The trio will be looking to deliver again as Australia eye half-a-dozen World Cup titles.

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