Australia’s Glenn Maxwell to miss England clash after falling off golf cart

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of his side’s World Cup match against England after falling off a golf cart and sustaining a concussion.

Maxwell, who hit a tournament record 40-ball century against the Netherlands last week and also offers a handy second spin option, will miss Saturday’s clash in Ahmedabad after a bizarre sequence of events.

Maxwell had finished a round at Gujarat’s Kalhaar Blues and Greens club on Monday evening and was riding on the back of a cart with team-mates when he lost his grip, fell and hit his head.

Head coach Andrew McDonald told cricket.com.au: “In transporting him back from the clubhouse to the team bus, Glenn Maxwell came off the back of a car and has suffered a small concussion.

“He’ll go into six to eight days concussion protocol, so they said that takes into account the England game. It was just a clearcut accident. He’s an important player for us, hopefully it’s just the one game he misses.

“The guys were ferried off on carts. Glenn and a few other players jumped on the back of carts and unfortunately he lost his grip on the way back to the team bus and sustained that injury. Over the last couple of days he’s been assessed. We feel as though it’ll be a relatively straightforward return to play protocol with where he’s at at the moment.”

England’s Jonny Bairstow missed 10 months of cricket after badly breaking his leg playing golf near Harrogate in August 2022, while Maxwell also suffered an unlikely injury last November when breaking his leg at a birthday party in Melbourne.

Australia have two all-round options available to step in for Maxwell, with Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis vying for a spot.