Will be challenging but ready to get back to international cricket, believes Nic Maddinson
While he was surprised by his inclusion in the Australia A side for a warm-up match, Maddinson believes that he is now ready for international cricket. Out of almost nowhere Nic Maddinson, who last played a Test match in 2016, is in the thick of national selections ahead of Pakistan Test series.
Nic Maddinson played his first Test match back in 2016 and he had a terrible beginning to his career as he was dismissed for a duck on his debut. He followed it up with a string of low scores that saw his exit from the Australian side and no one expected him to be back in the mix as he failed to score in the domestic circuit too.
His move to Victoria after being axed from the New South Wales in the 2018-19 season has been a game changer for him. He has scored a whopping 930 runs at 84.55 for Victoria over two seasons. This tremendous performance has brought Maddinson back into the thick of selections ahead of the Pakistan Test series as he got picked in the Australia A side for the warm up match.
Maddinson was surprised at his selection as he shared that he didn't even know when the day-night tour warm up game is scheduled.
“I actually didn’t even know there was an Australia A game coming up,” Fox Sports quoted Maddinson. “(I) discreetly asked (national selector) Trevor Hohns on the phone where I was playing and what day it started, but it’s nice to be selected.”
Aussie head coach Justin Langer hinted, earlier, about two spots being up for grabs in the Test squad and that has stirred up a fierce competition between the likes of Travis Head, Marcus Harris, Will Pucovski and Usman Khawaja as they look to pile up runs. The Australia A call up made Maddinson a bonafide contender to grab a spot in the team and he being this season’s topscorer in the Sheffield Shield, with 367 runs at 91.75, just strengthens his case.
Talking of his future, Maddinson acknowledged the fact that he had an aye set on a Test recall.
“It’s hard sometimes to not think a little bit further ahead. And I think people probably lie when they say they don’t think about that kind of stuff but I definitely have,” Maddinson said. “Not just in the past weeks but even the past six months or even before that. I think when you’re doing well you always have an eye on what could be in the future and where you want to end up as a goal.”
Reflecting upon his first run in Test cricket, Maddinson described it as a tough phase and shared that his lack of confidence was the reason for his poor performance.
“It was a challenging time and I probably learnt a lot from the experience. When I think about it now, compared to what I know about cricket and my own batting at the moment, I actually don’t think I had much of an idea of what I was doing or much direction on how I wanted to play.
“I probably wasn’t really confident with my own game at that level and not even at state cricket at that time I don’t think. At the time I probably didn’t reflect on it too much but in the last couple of years, you get a bit of time to think about it. I think I probably wasn’t ready at that opportunity.”
The left hander went on to add that he is ready for international cricket and with all the experience behind him he feels that he will excel if given a chance.
“I think so ... I think in terms of the style of play and my confidence levels, I think I would be but it’s hard to know until you’re out in the middle and obviously it is a step up again and a whole different challenge once you’re up there,” Maddinson said when asked if he could sustain in Test cricket this time around.
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