Nic Maddinson replaces concussed Will Pucovski in Aus A squad

Nic Maddinson replaces concussed Will Pucovski in Aus A squad

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In-form Maddinson has nailed his spot in the Australia A squad after power pack performances against New South Wales in Sheffield Shield. Young Pucovski continues to recover from the freakish concussion which he picked while playing for Cricket Australia XI against the England Lions at Gold Coast.

Nic Maddinson has been named as the replacement for the 22-year-old Will Pucovski in the Australia A squad against England Lions starting this Saturday. The southpaw has been in a rich vein of form scoring 95 and 105 not out in the Victoria’s Marsh Sheffield Shield clash against New South Wales at the SCG.

Young Pucovski continues to recover from the freakish concussion injury where he landed heavily on his head after his bat stuck in the ground as he was attempting to complete a single run against the lions at Gold Coast. The former was also ruled out of the rest of the 50-over matches against the Lions and will also miss Victoria’s next Shield clash.

"Will is recovering from the concussion and medical staff have assessed that he will not be available for the Australia A game or the next Sheffield Shield match," said Cricket Australia sports science chief Alex Kountouris as quoted by Cricket Australia.com.au.

His replacement, Maddinson has been in supreme touch in first-class cricket after playing through a slump in the recently-concluded KFC BBL season. While he averaged just 10 for the Melbourne Stars, in red-ball cricket for Victoria this season he is averaging 93 with two centuries and a top score of 224. Maddinson has said he has no idea on his stark form reversal between the two formats but feels non-stop cricket in BBL does not allow players to get back into form.

"No idea, It's just one of those things. With preparation, I think I've learnt to have a bit more of a mental routine. Playing a lot of four-day cricket I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp on how I want to play now and I'm confident. In Big Bash, you're playing every second or third day and when you lose confidence and get on a run it's really difficult to get it back."

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