Australia "Excited" To Face England's Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Says Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell has made his intent clear with some quick-fire knocks in the World Cup 2019 and he believes Australia are ready and excited to take on England pacers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. With the arch-rivals set to face-off at Lord's on Tuesday, Glenn Maxwell reckoned England's pace suits their batting line-up and they are ready for the challenge. England's Jofra Archer, making his World Cup debut, has taken 12 wickets so far and Maxwell acknowledged the Barbados-born quick's "effortless pace".

But the Australia all-rounder believes the reigning champions' top order will be more comfortable facing fast bowling than anything else at this World Cup

"I think they'll be more excited by that (Archer and Wood's speed) than someone bowling 120s (kph, 74 mph)," Maxwell said.

Maxwell was speaking after Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs to go top of the table in the 10-team round-robin group phase of the World Cup.

"That sort of pace suits our batting line-up a bit more -- a bit more pace on the ball and something we're a bit more used to.

"It's a challenge we're up for," he added. "We certainly get enough practice in the nets, that's for sure."

But ahead of England's group game against Sri Lanka at Headingley on Friday, an admiring Maxwell hailed Archer as a "hell of an athlete" and a "quality package".

Australia proved too much for Bangladesh after compiling a total of 381-5 at Trent Bridge on Thursday, with David Warner's 166 seeing him become this tournament's leading run-scorer.

Maxwell added late impetus with a stunning 32 off 10 balls, including three sixes, before he was run out after a mix-up with Usman Khawaja.

(With AFP inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Australia Cricket Team Glenn Maxwell Jofra Archer Mark Wood World Cup 2019 Cricket