Melbourne Stars all-rounder Glenn Maxwell says he’s “50-50” for his side’s BBL|14 season opener against the Perth Scorchers on Sunday 15 December.
Maxwell hasn’t played since sustaining a grade two hamstring strain against Pakistan on November 18.
The situation has put doubt on Maxwell’s availability for the BBL and, if he plays, his capacity to bowl and field, as well as bat.
Maxwell is particularly relevant given the Stars have a Round 1 double, with games on December 15 and December 18.
Last week, Maxwell told The Age he was “50-50” for that opening game and explicitly said he wouldn’t be taking any risks with upcoming tours in mind, including Australia’s Test tour to Sri Lanka at the end of January.
“This is a really good opportunity for me to get a lot of strength work into not just my hamstring but other areas of my body and make sure I am in a really good space heading into the back end of the year,” Maxwell said.
“I am 50-50 for the first game (against the Scorchers) and wary with the Champions Trophy just around the corner, and hopefully, if things go right, Sri Lanka.
“There is so much to come. I don’t really want to put that at risk by pushing it.”
When asked about his recovery, he added: “It’s all tracking pretty well.
“At this time of the year with the Big Bash coming back I need to get back to high intensity, high sprinting, so (recovery) is probably going to take a little bit longer (than three weeks).”
Click here to view our predicted Round 1 Stars’ line-up
