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What could have been an inspirational story turns into misery for Nic Maddinson. Cricket Australia made a massive decision by handing over a Test comeback to the top-order batter Nic Maddinson, who is already 34.
From battling against life-threatening cancer to coming back on the lush green canvas to cherish the dream of becoming a cricketer for the Australian National Cricket Team. Maddinson touched his dream comeback at the age of 34.
Nic Maddinson dismissed for a 33-ball duck on Test comeback
At the age when some of the players start to think about retirement, the Aussie opener went to mark a fresh start. But the ball came on the ground soon after he was dismissed for a duck, facing 33 balls in the ongoing 1st of the 3-match ODI series against South Africa at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium.
Nic Maddinson's 33-ball duck is the longest duck by an Australian opener in Test history where balls faced data is available.
Only a few hours before the India vs Australia 1st Test match, the Cricket Australia informed about the return of Nic Maddinson through their official media release. Maddinson, who is mostly known as an aggressive strike-maker, made his Test debut for the national team back in 2016. In that year, he played a few games, but was ruled out soon because of medical issues and then injury concerns.
It took ten years, a decade, to make a comeback in the Whites for the team, and than too against the defending World Test Champions (WTC), South Africa. Australia formed an explosive opening pair for the game with Travis Head and Nic Maddinson. The recall of Maddinson came after the injury of Josh Inglis. He was recalled out of nowhere, as Maddinson hasn't played any first-class cricket since March 2025.
But he was backed by an impressive domestic record of a batting average of 52.37 in the Sheffield Shield from December 2018 to March 2024. The 2024-25 summer was difficult for him as he had gone through treatment to diagnose his cancer. When the Australian cricket team included his name in the playing eleven for the first Test match, all eyes were on him, as he had the required skills sets to play good in the format, but there was an uncertainty as he remained out of the First Class cricket for a long time.
Back full of unexpected records for Nic Maddinson
The 33-ball duck came to him with multiple unexpected records. According to the stats, it was the first innings for the team when any of their batters were dismissed without scoring a single run after facing 33 balls. Additionally, it was the longest Test innings for a duck in the 21st century.
Most balls faced by an Australian batter to score a duck in a Test innings:
42 - Mike Whitney vs England at Manchester, 1981
33 - Nic Maddinson vs South Africa at Durban, 2026*
29 - Paul Sheahan vs England at Leeds, 1972
28 - Dennis Lillee vs Pakistan at Faisalabad, 1980
A difficult phase for the Australia cricket team
The desperation to add the 34-year-old batter straight into the match also showed the difficulties for the Australian team selectors to form a playing eleven for a Test match. In the recent past, the cricket management had to deal with a lot of injuries and fitness-related issues.
Nic Maddinson's inclusion was also because of an injury. Alongside injury reasons, the form of some of their players caused headaches for the team management as well. As a group of set player, that performed like a well-oiled machine only a couple of years ago, has started to drop their form. Slowly but surely, Australia cricket team is entering a transition phase.
