In April 2025, Nic Maddinson was told the testicular cancer doctors had found had already spread to his lung and his lymph nodes. Eighteen months later, he has been added to Australia’s squad for the first Test against South Africa in Durban, nine years and nine months after he last wore a Test cap.
The 34-year-old New South Wales batter comes into the 18-man party alongside uncapped Victoria wicketkeeper Sam Harper, with both men drafted in as cover for Josh Inglis, who has fractured his right index finger and will miss the series opener at Kingsmead on 9 October.
Maddinson’s case was made in a single innings. Having played no first-class cricket last summer, he struck 126 from 127 balls for New South Wales against Victoria in the one-day cup last week — his first substantial score in domestic cricket since finishing chemotherapy.
Surgery, chemotherapy and an eight-week wait
Maddinson was diagnosed after the 2024-25 season, having returned to New South Wales and signed for Sydney Thunder only months earlier. The treatment was not a formality: surgery, then a course of chemotherapy that ran until July 2025, with the disease having already travelled beyond its original site.
He was given the all-clear eight weeks after his final round of treatment and resumed full training in September 2025. The comeback was deliberately staged — five Big Bash matches for Sydney Thunder, no red-ball cricket, then a pre-season that ended with him being handed the New South Wales Sheffield Shield captaincy for 2026-27 after Jack Edwards stepped down to manage his fast-bowling workload. Head coach Brad Haddin confirmed the appointment last month.
That sequence matters to selectors. A player who has captained a Shield side through a pre-season and made 126 against a strong Victorian attack is a different proposition from one simply waved through on sentiment.
An Australian top six picked apart by injury
Australia arrive in Durban having lost the three-match ODI series 2-1, salvaging the final game in Potchefstroom by 45 runs on DLS. The cost was heavy. Inglis broke his finger before the series; Cameron Green suffered a lower abdominal strain while batting in the third ODI and will have his fitness assessed over the coming week.
That leaves a batting order with genuine holes to fill around Steve Smith, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne. George Bailey, chair of selectors, framed both call-ups in functional terms.
“Sam gives us wicketkeeping cover as Josh continues his recovery, while Nic provides flexibility throughout the batting order,” Bailey said.
The squad for the opener reads: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Beau Webster, with Inglis available from the second Test onwards. Renshaw has been cleared of a wrist complaint.
Harper, 29, has his own case: 677 Shield runs at 35.63 last season and 128 on debut for Australia A against India A in Puducherry.
Unfinished business from 2016
Maddinson’s first spell in Test cricket was brutally short. He made his debut at Adelaide Oval on 24 November 2016 — against South Africa, in a day-night Test, with Simon Katich presenting his cap — and was dismissed for nought. Two Tests against Pakistan followed, the last of them the 2016 Boxing Day match at the MCG. His Test record stands at 27 runs in four innings at 6.75.
His first-class numbers tell a different story: 7,832 runs at 37.11 from 129 matches, with a highest score of 224. The gap between those two sets of figures has defined his career, and it is the reason a decade-old failure has not permanently closed the door.
The stakes are considerable. The series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, with Australia leading the standings and South Africa, the defending champions, second. Three Tests — Durban from 9 October, Gqeberha from 18 October, Johannesburg from 27 October — against a bowling attack that has prospered in home conditions is an unforgiving environment for any returning batter.
Whether Maddinson plays at Kingsmead depends largely on Green’s scan results and how Australia choose to rebalance their middle order. What has already happened is the harder part:
- Diagnosed April 2025 with cancer that had spread to lung and lymph nodes
- Chemotherapy completed July 2025; cleared to train September 2025
- Five BBL matches for Sydney Thunder on return, no first-class cricket
- Named NSW Shield captain, then 126 off 127 balls against Victoria
Few Australian cricketers have travelled that far between squad announcements.
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764 words. The story checks out as real — verified against multiple sources before writing. One note: Wikipedia dates the diagnosis to March 2025 while news reports say April 2025; I used April, matching the wire coverage.
Sources:
– [ABC News — Australia calls Nic Maddinson, Sam Harper into Test squad](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-02/australia-calls-nic-maddinson-and-sam-harper-into-test-squad/107219810)
– [ICC — Australia make squad changes ahead of first Proteas Test](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/australia-make-squad-changes-ahead-of-first-proteas-test)
– [SEN — Maddinson and Harper receive late Test call-up](https://www.sen.com.au/news/2026/10/01/cricket-2026-nic-maddinson-and-sam-harper-added-to-australia-s-test-squad-against-south-africa)
– [Yahoo Sports — Australia recall Nic Maddinson after cancer recovery](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/australia-recall-nic-maddinson-face-181550759.html)
– [Wikipedia — Nic Maddinson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nic_Maddinson)
– [readcricket — Jack Edwards steps down as NSW captain](https://readcricket.com/2026/09/16/jack-edwards/)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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