By Matt Somerford
Glenn Maxwell has labelled Hampshire team-mate James Vince a “superstar” and is certain he will play an important part in England’s future.
Vince has thrust his name into the spotlight with a breakthrough season that saw him become the first batsman to reach 1,000 LV= County Championship runs this week as he plundered Essex for a double century.
The 23-year-old’s form in the NatWest T20 Blast has made people stand up and notice too.
He is one of the competition’s leading scorers, averaging 44, while he has notched three half-centuries in six innings.
That he has done so as skipper, leading Hampshire to second place in the South Group, has made his performances even more impressive.
Australia all-rounder Maxwell knows a thing or to about making a splash himself – following his stand-out Indian Premier League campaign just before arriving back at Hampshire – and thinks Vince is on a similar upward curve.
“I don’t think he has a full potential at the moment - he is scratching the surface of what he can achieve,” Maxwell told ecb.co.uk.
“He’s an absolute superstar. I remember the first time I saw him when I first came to Hampshire two years ago and just saw an unbelievable talent.
“I’ve never seen a guy time the ball as he does. He’s just so smooth and elegant.
“He’s showing this season how good he actually is but I’m sure there is more of him to come and I’m sure he’s going to be playing for England at some stage soon.”
Vince can also be credited with bringing Maxwell back to Hampshire to bolster a Blast batting line-up that is the envy of most counties.
“We’ve been good mates since day one,” Maxwell said.
“He’s a good guy to talk to. We talk a bit about cricket and we play a bit of golf together.
“He’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back to Hampshire and play because he’s a great guy.”
The pair have brought crowds through the turnstiles at the Ageas Bowl with their power hitting, although Maxwell is mischievously less effusive about the blows Vince delivers on the golf course.
“He’s a horrible golfer,” Maxwell laughed.
“He sprays them a bit. There’s a few of us who around the low-teens handicap and he’s one of them.
“It’s always entertaining when you’re putting a bit of cash on the line and you see him go in the water.”
Maxwell has enjoyed life back on the south coast after he returned to Hampshire on a high after he lit up the IPL.
The 25-year-old confirmed himself as one of the world’s biggest Twenty20 stars as he was the competition’s third-highest runs scorer as Punjab Kings XI went to the final.
Maxwell made a storming start plundering 95 from 43 balls in two of his first three games – either side of 89 from as many deliveries against Rajasthan Royals.
He quickly became a hero to the thousands of Punjab fans and, while he had already made his name with Australia, life as star in India is an all together different experience.
“It was a bit full-on at the start,” he said.
“I became a little bit of a cult hero amongst the Punjab fans. It was amazing to see the response I was getting from the crowd and the signs that were going up around the ground with 60-70,000 people.
“It was pretty amazing. Most international players don’t get to have that in India. It was all positive and a super experience in my life.”
Maxwell’s rise to fame has come on the back of his fearless approach to batting in the sprint format and, while he has managed scores of just seven and 21 in his two Blast innings for Hampshire so far, he is not about to go into his shell.
“It’s about staying positive and making sure you’re ahead of the you’re balls faced,” he said.
“In the first five or six balls you try and stay ahead of a strike rate of 100 and then just try and build from there.
“I try and give myself five to 10 balls and basically get myself in but still be busy and positive.
“I don’t mind facing the slower bowlers to start off because I think it helps to get your feet moving.
“It gives you a bit of time to adjust to the light. It doesn’t bother me too much – it’s just about getting those five or 10 balls and then branch out from there.”
** Tickets for Hampshire’s NatWest T20 Blast match against Gloucestershire at The Ageas Bowl on Friday 20 June are available to buy online through The Ageas Bowl ticketing website, or over the phone on 0844 847 1863 (24 hours a day). You can also buy them in person at The Ageas Bowl ticket office.