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‘Big Show’ Maxwell ends 14-year international careerSports
The 38-year-old ‘Big Show’ closes a 286-match career that included three World Cup titles and some of the most explosive innings of the modern era.
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Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing down the curtain on a 14-year career with his country. The 38-year-old, widely known by his nickname ‘The Big Show’, confirmed the decision on The Final Word podcast.
Maxwell also confirmed he would step away from domestic 50-over cricket and red-ball cricket for Victoria. He will, however, play one final Big Bash League season for the Melbourne Stars before stepping away from cricket entirely, as he looks to manage his body through the remaining tournaments of his career.
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The numbers behind the career are remarkable. Maxwell represented Australia in 7 Tests, 149 one-day internationals and 130 Twenty20 internationals, a total of 286 international matches. He scored 339 Test runs, 3,990 ODI runs and 2,897 T20I runs, and took 136 international wickets.
He was part of three World Cup-winning Australian teams: the ODI World Cup triumphs of 2015 and 2023, and the T20 World Cup win of 2021. Few players of his generation combined explosive batting, inventive shot-making and useful off-spin in quite the same way, and he became one of Australia’s most distinctive limited-overs players.
Maxwell had already retired from ODI cricket in June 2025, after 149 matches over 13 years. He remained available for the T20I side and played at the 2026 T20 World Cup, where Australia were eliminated in the group stage. His final international appearance came against Oman in February 2026, a match in which he took two wickets but did not get a chance to bat.
Speaking about the timing of his decision, Maxwell said he needed to spend more time investing in his body to get through the remaining tournaments of his career. He also revealed there had been discussions about a possible farewell game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but said he understood the direction the Australian selectors were taking with a changing squad.
The announcement also reflects a wider changing of the guard in Australian cricket. With the 2028 Olympics on the horizon and a new cycle beginning, the selectors are looking to the next generation, and Maxwell’s departure closes the international chapter of one of the most entertaining careers of the modern era.
For fans, Maxwell will be remembered for innings that changed matches in a matter of overs, for fielding brilliance and for a fearless approach that made him box-office whenever he walked to the crease. The Big Bash farewell will give Australian crowds one last chance to see him in action, but the international stage has now seen the last of the Big Show.
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