IPL bonds have Aussies keeping enemies close

Never one to be bound by convention, Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell has not only revealed he has many close friends among the India line-up his team will face in Thursday's World Cup semi-final but that one of the most divisive recent figures is among his favourites.

The winners of the past four World Cups face off for the right to reach the 2015 final at the end of India's four-month stay in Australia during which tempers flared numerous times in the preceding Tests and one-day internationals.

Australia's Mitchell Starc along with India players Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma were all charged with ICC Code of Conduct breaches during the Commonwealth Bank Test Series.

And opener David Warner was reported during the Tests and again in the Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series that followed upon which he was publicly counselled by Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland to "stop looking for trouble".

Warner risks suspension if he is found guilty of a third breach when the spirited foes renew a rivalry that saw India emerge winless from their four Tests, two ODIs and a World Cup warm-up match against teams led by Michael Clarke and Steve Smith over the past four months.

But Maxwell, as is so often the case, marches to a different beat and believes the biggest threat India poses for him might be the relationships he has developed with many of their players through his involvement in the Indian Premier League, and how to switch off the friendly banter.

"Personally, I get along with them really well," Maxwell said today when asked about any ongoing tension between the heavyweight teams.

"Playing with three different (IPL) teams you get to know a lot of them, spend time with them, go to dinners with them and you start to develop real friendships and you stay in touch with them as well.

"It makes it hard when you play against them because you've got to still have that fine line of keeping it competitive on the field but they're also your mates, so you've got to continue trying to play as if you're playing your worst enemy every time.

"It's sometimes hard, I find myself laughing with a lot of the guys and you get people yelling at you to 'concentrate' or 'stick to the game', but I'm not into that sort of stuff."

If Maxwell's equanimity towards an opponent that has been at the centre of many a heated on-field conflict wasn't sufficiently revelatory, the player he identified as the biggest "character" he had encountered during his time within and against Indian teams will likely raise some eyebrows.

Image Id: ~/media/7D72C0754E7B41839809A07047060D2F

Maxwell celebrates with his Kings XI teammates // Sportzpics

"It was Harbhajan Singh, he was brilliant," Maxwell said of one of the key figures in the most volatile episode between the powerhouse cricketing nations.

"He's one of the funniest guys I've ever met."

Harbhajan, the volatile and voluble former off-spinner, was central to the accusations of racism that emerged from the final Test of India's ill-tempered tour of Australia in the summer of 2007-08 that reached its nadir at the venue where the teams will face each other on Thursday.

He also played a pivotal on-field part two months later when India finished that tour by defeating Australia in the finals of the ODI tri-series competition, with their six-wicket victory in the ultimate match being the only occasion they have defeated the home nation in a one-dayer in Sydney.

If Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq is to be believed, the reigning World Cup champions have a genuine chance of doubling that number of successes in the semi-final that will decide which team makes it through to the tournament play-off next Sunday at the MCG.

In the wake of his team's hefty quarter-final loss to Australia in Adelaide on Friday, Misbah departed the ODI stage by noting that the home team's apparent lack of "a good spinner" coupled with the quality of India's spin options might prove decisive on a pitch historically conducive to slow bowlers.

But if Australia's selectors and centre-wicket conditions conspire to alter the line-up that Clarke led on to the SCG in their most recent appearance there (against Sri Lanka two weeks ago) and specialist spinner Xavier Doherty is overlooked, then Maxwell believes he can fill that role.

He has been working assiduously on the off-spin he took up in his teens having abandoned aspirations to be a pace bowler, and believes the results he's achieved since his most recent Test appearance – against Pakistan in the UAE last October – have been significant.

"I've taken a couple of wickets this tournament which has been nice, and I feel like I've been doing the job that Michael Clarke has been asking of me whenever I've come to the crease," said Maxwell who has picked up five wickets to go with his 301 runs in this World Cup thus far.

"I had a chat to John Davison (specialist spin bowling coach and Nathan Lyon's mentor) and he said my shape was looking really good and it's starting to become a bit more of a frontline spinners' (bowling) action as well.

"Not so much just a run-stopping option but it's actually becoming semi-threatening – compared to just going and putting the ball on a tee.

"As soon as I came back to Australia (from the UAE tour) I worked really hard on it and I felt like I was starting to get signs of what I wanted to do with my off-spin and what other coaches had been looking for me to do as well, which was to get that drop and a bit more energy on the ball.

"Coming from a fast bowler's background growing up, I have a long bowling stride for an off-spinner and I've been trying to shorten that but still have the same energy through the crease.

"It's been a long work in progress, I've had to change my action about six or seven times since the (national cricket) academy which has been frustrating, but hopefully with this change there's only an upward curve now."

If Maxwell is seeking further pointers on how he might balance on-field competitiveness while still fostering off-field respect with his Indian opponents-cum-friends, he might once more seek out his close friend and increasingly regular batting partner Shane Watson.

Watson was fined 15 per cent of his match fee after a heated run-in with Pakistan's fiery fast bowler Wahab Riaz (fined 50 per cent) after the pair fought a torrid but compelling mid-pitch battle on Friday evening.

Watson and Wahab had a sizzling battle in Adelaide

The Australia allrounder stood his ground as Wahab peppered him with a series of searing, accurate bouncers and remained undefeated as he and Maxwell carried their team to a semi-final berth.

Watson later tweeted that he was "very lucky to have come out unscathed" from Wahab's stunning spell and added #respect and #nohardfeelings to convey his feelings about the clash

"Watto played absolutely beautifully," Maxwell said today.

"It was incredible to see the way he weathered the storm from Wahab, sort of curbed his natural aggression and the way he got through that and set it up for the rest of the middle-order to finish off was outstanding.

"It was high-class quality batting.

"His innings shows the true class that he really is.

"I remember saying at the start of the World Cup that he's going to be an integral part of us winning this thing – if he's playing well, we've got a great chance of winning."