He is an absolute superstar: Glenn Maxwell on England's James Vince

James Vince

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who shot to fame in the recently concluded edition of the Indian Premier League by ending up as the third leading run-getter, has heaped praises on his Hampshire teammate James Vince, saying that the 23-year-old is an ‘absolute superstar’ and will go places in England colours.

Speaking to ecb.co.uk, Maxwell said: “I don’t think he has a full potential at the moment - he is scratching the surface of what he can achieve. 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.”

Striking at a rate of 130, Vince has scored 1716 runs in 66 T20 innings. Not just in T20, he has excelled in other formats, as well, scoring 4756 runs in 80 first-class matches and 2219 runs in 67 list A matches at 41.71 and 36.98 respectively. A regular for England Lions, he hasn’t yet made his international debut.

Maxwell’s performances with Hampshire was one of the chief reasons behind him making a comeback to the international arena and then landing an IPL contract with Kings XI Punjab. The 25-year-old also revealed that his relationship with Vince was one of the reasons why he wanted to return to the English county club.

“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.”