The third man behind Maxwell's success
He did not face a ball, nor score a run, but Australia's physiotherapist Nick Jones could lay claim to being the third most important person in Australia's batting effort that sealed one of the greatest comeback wins in cricket history at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
Glenn Maxwell produced one of the best ODI innings of all-time against Afghanistan in Mumbai as he became Australia's first double-century maker, smashing an unbeaten 201 from just 128 deliveries to help the five-time World Cup champions pull off an amazing victory and book their place in the knockout stages.
But Maxwell's otherworldly knock, including 21 boundaries and 10 sixes -- most of which while barely being able to stand straight -- would not have materialised if not for the wise words and the healing power of Jones, the experienced physio who has looked after the bodies of the Aussie men's side for the last two years.
Having bowled 10 overs in 34-degree heat and over 80-percent humidity, Maxwell's body had almost reached the limit when he approached a century, running three consecutive twos and then a single in the 30th over. It sent his back into violent spasms, preceding cramps in his calves, hamstrings, feet, and even his toes.
"(Jones said to Maxwell) 'We've seen this before, we know what this looks like – I think you're going to be able to do this. If we can keep you as upright as possible, you're going to be able to keep going from now'," Jones told cricket.com.au in the wake of Maxwell's remarkable innings.
Having already treated Maxwell on three separate occasions for severe cramping, Jones' shining moment came when he was summoned yet again when the star batter collapsed in a heap midway through the 41st over of their chase.
Jones had already helped the pair settle on a strategy of minimising their running between the wickets to ensure Maxwell retained any shred of fuel left in his tank.
"Then he went down like he was shot, lying down like a dead man on the floor," Jones added.
"While we were giving him a bit of a stretch out, it was in that moment he said, 'I'm done here. I can't keep going. I need to come off and retire.'
"That is reasonable in some situations. But in that one, from my end, if you take someone off in that situation when their system is already depleted, and you sit them down and cool them down -- you're not getting them back up.
"Their body shuts down. They often go into full body cramps and you're often not able to get any level of function out of them."
It was here that Jones' sage advice might have turned the match.
"He was struggling big time but I said to Glenn initially, 'look, I think your best bet is to get you up off the ground. We need you up on your feet, we need to stretch the key muscle groups'," Jones said.