Last Updated on 45 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
In August, the Australian selectors dropped Jake Weatherald one match after he was offered a central contract. The left-hander was the latest to go in a merry-go-round of openers since David Warner’s retirement, with an SOS sent to Matt Renshaw to help fix the issue.
One Test later, Renshaw has been moved to number five with Nic Maddinson opening alongside Travis Head.
It is pleasing to see fans call on other fans to focus on the selectors, rather than Maddinson. He was thrown in the deep end, against the tide, and asked to swim safely to shore. The 34-year-old hasn’t played a First Class game in 19 months, so Bailey’s phone call was bound to surprise even the player himself.
“I thought maybe he was calling me to go to India on the A tour, or ask about another young player around, because I was a little bit unsure what was going on,” Maddinson said earlier this month, as quoted by Cricinfo.
“We had a bit of a chat and obviously I 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 and stuff like that, it’s still always been there but, yeah, definitely a bit of a surprise.”
Nic Maddinson’s game against spin was referenced, so why was he opening?
Maddinson in the squad alone was a remarkable selection; the fact he was picked to open is mind-boggling. Chair of Selectors George Bailey was staunch in his defence of the selection, referencing the left-hander’s ability to play spin.
[Nic] is a strong player, a very strong player, of spin and [that’s] not to dismiss work against quick bowling,” Bailey said last week.
“Probably from that one-day wicket and looking at their [South Africa’s] squad a little bit, I think it’s half an expectation that’s probably what we’re going to get hit with in Durban.”
Given those words, opting to open with Maddinson was startling as there is a strong chance he faces no spin. Fans may have been more understanding of the move if it meant Travis Head moved to five. That didn’t eventuate.
Maddinson’s stay was a painful watch. His head position was in a different postcode against any delivery angled into him from Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen. He should have been out earlier in his innings too – plumb LBW to a Mulder delivery that the Proteas opted not to review as they believed he got an inside edge.
Ultimately, Maddinson’s a player who hadn’t batted in a red-ball game for some time, and it showed. His 33-ball duck shines the spotlight brightly on Bailey and co. for putting him in such a predicament.
If Maddinson comes out in the second innings and produces a score, then great. A man who comes back from cancer can come back from anything. But the selectors’ chopping and changing of the batting order represents confusion, especially when no player in the XI is under 30 years of age – an Australian first in Test cricket.
It has been a promising start to the season batting-wise in the Sheffield Shield, with centuries made around the country, including a mammoth 253 off 225 balls by Ollie Davies against Tasmania. More of the same in the coming weeks, and we could see more youth injected into this Australian team.
That, along with a clearer picture of what the batting order looks like, is a must.
