Australia’s Glenn Maxwell celebrates the wicket of New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between Australia and New Zealand, at HPCA Stadium, in Dharamshala, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Australia batter Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of the World Cup clash against England on November 4 after he fell off a golf cart that resulted in a concussion and facial bruising.

Maxwell was riding on the back of a golf cart after a round on Monday when he fell off.

“In transporting back from the clubhouse to the team bus, where Glenn Maxwell come off the back of a cart, and has suffered a small concussion. So, he will go into concussion protocols for the next period of time, and will unfortunately miss the England game,” said Australia head coach Andrew McDonald.

Also Read | Australia’s Glenn Maxwell aggravates injury month before World Cup 2023

The all-rounder is a key member of the Australian team as he shares spin duties with Adam Zampa while also playing a vital role in the middle order with the bat.

He had smashed the fastest hundred in World Cup history — off 40 balls against the Netherlands — in Delhi last week.

This is Maxwell’s second freak injury in less than a year. Last November, he broke his leg at a birthday party in Melbourne and as per cricket.com.au, he is yet to recover fully from that.

The players were enjoying a round of golf having got a week’s break between the New Zealand and England game. A replacement will not be needed, said the head coach.

“There’ll be no replacement as such. So he’ll go into like, it’s six to eight days concussion protocol. So as I said, that takes into account the England game who will be unavailable for that game.

“And then clearly within the squad, we’ve got some players who become available in Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green is available as well. So, we haven’t made that decision as yet,” said McDonald.

In another freak injury, England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow had slipped while playing golf last year, ruling him out of T20 World Cup which his team eventually won.