An outspoken protester against a similar catch eight months ago, Maxwell turned the rule book in his favour against England
Maxwell learns lesson to claim stunning catch
Never let it be said Glenn Maxwell doesn't learn from his mistakes.
In January Maxwell roundly criticised a catch from Sydney Thunder's Josh Lalor in the KFC Big Bash League after the player jumped from beyond the boundary rope back into the field of play.
Chastened to discover it was in fact legal, Maxwell showed he had not forgotten the lesson on Friday night as he completed a similar if altogether more acrobatic and stunning catch that traversed the boundary rope on the international stage at Headingley.
Lalor's catch to dismiss Melbourne Stars' Cameron White in BBL|04 sparked a thousand tweets of protest – not least of all from Maxwell – with many claiming as the Australian allrounder did that catch should have been a six.
In fact, a seemingly often overlooked and quickly forgotten October 2013 update to the Laws of cricket –precisely to account for the increase in athletic fielding on the boundary rope in Twenty20 cricket – made it perfectly legal.
"That's not out!!" Maxwell tweeted back in January. His outburst prompted the Marylebone Cricket Club – the custodians of the Laws of cricket – to issue a clarification.
That's not out!! U can't jump from over the rope to take the catch! The rule has changed, otherwise u can catch one 20m back from the rope!
— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) January 17, 2015
Happy to be proven wrong. Was unaware of the rule change.I think that it's a poor rule change, but happy to take advantage of the rule 2day!
— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) January 18, 2015
It seems Maxwell was paying attention.
At Headingley, Maxwell clutched at a firmly-struck ball by Liam Plunkett late in England's three-wicket win that was destined for six – but after taking the catch just inside the rope, Maxwell began falling out of bounds before flinging the ball in the air.
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Oh what a feeling ... Maxi completes catch // Getty
He then stepped out of bounds before regathering his composure to leap back into the field of play and take a left-handed grab to claim a fair catch.
"We all knew the rule, the new rule. Well, a couple didn't," said Pat Cummins, the bowler who benefited from Maxwell's brilliance.
"He was pretty confident when he was running in.
"It just shows he's a got to be up there with the best in world the way he fields.
"He saves plenty of runs in games, and again, probably kept us in the game with those two catches in the last 10 overs."
Clause '19.4 Ball beyond the boundary' of the Laws of Cricket was updated in October 2013 for the explosion in boundary-line athleticism brought about by Twenty20 cricket. Under this clause, Maxwell's catch was legal.
As long as the ball doesn't touch the ground beyond the boundary rope, or is touched by a player that is touching ground beyond the boundary rope, it is deemed to still be in play.
Stunning as it was, it was not the first time cricket has seen such catches. Apart from Lalor's effort in January, New Zealand's Trent Boult jumped from beyond the boundary line to dismiss Keiron Pollard in July 2014.
And it's far from the first time Maxwell has stunned with his onfield exploits that can run the full gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The reverse-sweeps are a personal trademark – he even launched a reverse-swept six off the first ball of a Twenty20 match in England domestic cricket earlier this winter. He drew scorn from social media critics for showing off with a 'behind-the-back' shot when video of a net session with juniors was posted online, and his infamous first-ball leave in last summer's BBL lingers long in the memory.
His more 'conventional' catch earlier in the innings would have lead the highlight reels on another night. And earlier this year he took a one-handed boundary line catch while holding an ice-cream in a Yorkshire charity match.
Maxwell was playing in a charity match against local village club Bardsley when he reeled in the remarkable catch without dropping a half-eaten Cornetto.
After completing the catch, Maxwell took another bite of his ice cream before returning the ball, leaving even the dismissed batsman, Ed Clayton, to applaud his effort.
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Eye on the ball ... // Visualised Photography
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Clean as a whistle // Visualised Photography