When Nic Maddinson let his son, August, know where he was heading off to, the four-year-old started rattling off all the animals that live in South Africa. And while he was upset about his dad being away for a month, the Maddinsons did manage to sneak in some cricket in the hallway at their home in Byron Bay. The proud father puts down August’s in-depth knowledge of the South African fauna to the many books he likes reading about animals. And on Sunday morning, Maddinson reveals that his older son also enhanced his geography knowledge by figuring out how far South Africa was from Australia after looking at the map.
It was very different to the difficult conversations that the left-handed batter was forced to have with August some 18 months ago while he was undergoing his biggest battle yet. Back when he was undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer and had to let his son know that he couldn’t play with him for a while.
While August might not currently understand the magnitude of his father’s latest trip away, Maddinson’s surprise recall to the Test squad completes one of the more remarkable comebacks in Australian cricket history. Along with being among the most heartwarming ones. From cancer survivor to potentially having a second bite at a Test career for a man who’s much loved by everyone who crosses his path. Both for the entertainment he provides with the bat in the middle and for being the person he is off it.
The only reason he was even in Byron Bay over the weekend and not in Sydney, however, was to trace his passport and also spend some time with family before heading off to South Africa. All part of a hectic 72 hours from the time he received a surprise phone call from the chair of selectors, George Bailey.
“I thought maybe he was calling me to go to India for the A tour or ask about another young player around because I was a little bit unsure what was going on,” he says on Sunday, having got to Potchefstroom earlier in the day. “We had a bit of a chat and obviously didn’t feel like I was that close but still had hopes of maybe one day getting back into a Test squad. So, in terms of motivation, it’s still always been there but yeah definitely a bit of a surprise.”
Maddinson talks about spending the long flight still in a bit of shock but trying to distract himself with a bit of sleep and by watching movies but also letting his mind wander to soak in one of the “craziest” weekends of his life.
“Kind of replaying the last 24 hours and the phone call and all that kind of stuff but I think in that moment you probably forget half of what’s said anyway and then you’re left sitting there saying well I’m not going to know anything until I get there so I might as well try and relax and just enjoy the experience.”
Maddinson’s debut series in 2016 wasn’t a memorable one ©AFP
Though it’s been nearly a decade since his last Test, the 34-year-old has been in this position a few times in recent years, where he’s got a late call-up to the ranks. And he might have felt like he was only a few noteworthy innings away from opening the batting against Jasprit Bumrah and the Indian attack two summers ago. Just when he’d made the move to New South Wales from Victoria.
“I think when I left Victoria I’d had a really strong five years and I probably felt quite close going into that first summer back with the Blues and just didn’t really take opportunities at the start of the year and that was probably the closest I’d been for a long time. At the moment I think it’s like all that hard work and all the advantage you get then still counts for something and giving me the confidence of being in this group and feeling like I could play a role if needed at some point.”
As incredible as his return to competitive cricket has been, Maddinson, who was named NSW Shield captain very recently, is aware of the fact that he hasn’t played a first-class game since March of last year. But he’s also confident of his own physical conditioning and the rapid progress he’s made in regaining his cricket fitness.
“Not something I’m worried about getting through the game. I feel like in terms of fitness level and coming out of the pre-season, I’ve been playing a lot of matches and multi-day red ball games within New South Wales as well and spending a lot of time fuelling and having to back up. Obviously, I haven’t played a four day game for a little while but in terms of the physical side of it I’m not too worried, once you get into it you adapt.”
Maddinson has been very open about how much his perspective has changed about life and his cricket since he went through his health battle. About how he’s found more balance in life and being more relaxed about his cricket. But he also talks about having evolved a lot as a cricketer since the last time he put his Baggy Green on against Pakistan at the MCG in 2016.
“I always felt like I understood the game pretty well but when you look back I feel like you probably don’t know that much. It was as much as you try and learn on the job a bit. But it’s been 10 years I’ve played a lot of first class cricket so you get a little bit more confident in the way you want to play,” he says.
“The one thing I’ve learned in that time is that you’re trying to play the way you think you need to please people or try and stay on the team or you might be picked because you’re an aggressive scorer but you can’t play like that all the time as well so it’s probably finding the balance and that’s probably what I’ve learned since then is I feel really confident whether it’s a tough wicket which all wickets have been and I’ve been able to have success but I think early in my career it was like I needed great conditions to score runs but I think I’ve learned to have another side to my game.”
While he’s no stranger to most in the Australian dressing-room, having played either alongside or against them over the years, he does talk about the added excitement of joining an Australian Test squad with Andrew McDonald at the helm. Especially when you think about the years he spent honing his craft under McDonald when he was Victoria coach.
“It feels like everyone’s pretty happy to see you when you come in, everyone’s excited for you and that kind of stuff so it was a really nice environment to walk into this morning,” he says.
No surprises there for anyone who’s come across Maddinson and his amazing feel-good story. And it will be a popular return to the Test ranks if it were to transpire this month in South Africa, even more so within the Australian dressing-room than anywhere else. It’ll also mean that South Africa will hold a special place in little August Maddinson’s heart over time, even more than simply the animals who reside there.
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