Glenn Maxwell

The most audacious improviser of his generation, Glenn Maxwell plays the game as if the rulebook were a suggestion. His lateral movement across the crease, the reverse slogs over point and a genuine 360-degree range come from a restless, wildly creative cricket brain.

Maxwell's hitting is not brute force but calculated chaos. At the 2023 World Cup he struck a 40-ball century against the Netherlands in Delhi, the fastest in the tournament's history, then produced an unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan in Mumbai, batting on one functioning leg through cramps to drag Australia from 91 for 7 to victory. That tournament, which Australia won, finally married his staggering talent to the demands of the biggest stage.

For all the pyrotechnics, the Victorian's role has often been that of finisher and middle-overs spin-basher. His off-spin, underused but occasionally decisive, gives Australia a genuine all-round option. In the IPL he has turned out for several franchises, most prominently Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, and he remains a Big Bash mainstay with the Melbourne Stars.

Off the field, Maxwell's candour about his mental health struggles made him a trailblazer beyond his sport. He stands among the most complete white-ball players of his era, a two-time 50-over World Cup winner who deals in his own singular brand of havoc.