Glenn Maxwell: Birmingham Bears sign Australia all-rounder for 2023 T20 Blast
- Published
Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs for Australia when they beat New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in 2021
Birmingham Bears have signed Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for the 2023 T20 Blast.
The 34-year-old twice World Cup winner, helped the Aussies to lift the 50-over title in 2015 and then the T20 version six years later.
He will join the Bears when the Indian Premier League season ends in May.
"To get a player of this stature is something that really excites us," Bears first-team coach Mark Robinson told BBC Radio WM.
"We're really excited to have somebody with his global reputation but also somebody that can help influence our younger players and help us grow as a team.
"He's absolutely full-on. He's a competitor. And, with the bat, he wins matches - he doesn't take a backward step."
Big-hitter Maxwell has had previous spells in England with Hampshire, Surrey, Yorkshire and most recently Lancashire in 2019.
Pakistan pace bowler Hasan Ali is scheduled to be the Bears' second T20 overseas player, having committed to spending the whole summer with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Warwickshire also recruited England all-rounder Moeen Ali and a second all-rounder from Worcestershire, Ed Barnard, during the close season.
The Bears, winners in 2014, reached the quarter-finals of last year's competition, setting a then-record total of 261-2 during the group stages.
Maxwell, who will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL for a third successive season, is close to returning to action after breaking his leg in an accident at a friend's birthday party in November.
He has played 355 T20 innings, with an average of 27.79 and strike rate of 151.07. He holds the record for the highest score in the Big Bash, when he 154 off 64 balls for Melbourne Stars in January 2022.
"It's an amazing signing. He's one of the fastest scorers in world cricket," said Robinson. "I'm sure he'll be a favourite with Bears fans.
"He's the perfect T20 batter for us, a power hitter with a fantastic range of shots which makes it hard for opposing sides to set fields, plus he's an outstanding fielder."