Australia's Glenn Maxwell revealed on Wednesday that he was ill and 'didn't want to bat' before he made the fastest century in World Cup history against the Netherlands in Delhi. Maxwell made his century in just 40 balls - beating the mark set 18 days ago by South Africa's Aiden Markram by nine deliveries.
Maxwell's 106 is the fourth fastest in ODI history and - together with David Warner's 104 - helped Australia to 399 for 8 against the Dutch who were skittled out for just 90.
Here's what he said during his post-match press conference:
How sick he was before the game?
"Yeah, not great. I've got to be honest, sitting in the changing room and I didn't want to bat. It was a bit different to the last game where I was way too eager to get out there. And then we talked about over-arousal levels and I probably reached double maximum, if you couldn't tell. But yeah, I was a bit more chilled when I got out there. Didn't have too many high hopes I think. Pretty crook the last couple of days, coincided with the sleepless night last night with the family over."
On being criticised for his lean returns in recent times
"I'm not too worried about people saying I haven't made runs in ODI cricket because it doesn't really matter, especially with my role in one-day cricket, it's very similar to T20. So I just draw on those experiences, knowing that if I do get it right on the day, hopefully, my team will be winning. Having had a bit of success this year in India during the IPL, I come to India during this World Cup full of confidence."
If he paid any attention to records and the scoreboard during his innings
"I'm very aware of them! I'm very aware of balls faced. I love the fastest 50, fastest 100 records, I think they're pretty cool records, sometimes to the detriment of myself. I've always probably pushed the boundaries a bit too much. I think against Afghanistan in 2015, I was 88 off 37 (balls) and I was like 'I'm getting it (century) in the next two balls.' Hit one straight to cover and butchered it but I think I got the fastest hundred next game. So I've been in those positions before where I make fast hundreds when I get on a run. I know I'm difficult to bowl to, it's just about getting past the first ball."
Records Australia broke with 309-run win against Netherlands