{"id":662,"date":"2026-10-09T12:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T11:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/09\/nic-maddinsons-33-ball-duck-in-durban-exposes-selectors-and-defies-all-logic\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T12:03:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T11:03:26","slug":"nic-maddinsons-33-ball-duck-in-durban-exposes-selectors-and-defies-all-logic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/09\/nic-maddinsons-33-ball-duck-in-durban-exposes-selectors-and-defies-all-logic\/","title":{"rendered":"Nic Maddinson\u2019s 33-ball duck in Durban exposes selectors and defies all logic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Updated on 12 hours ago by Charbel Coorey<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s retirement, with an SOS sent to Matt Renshaw to help fix the issue. <\/p>\n

One Test later, Renshaw has been moved to number five with Nic Maddinson opening alongside Travis Head.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t played a First Class game in 19 months, so Bailey\u2019s phone call was bound to surprise even the player himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Maddinson said earlier this month, as quoted by Cricinfo<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a bit of a chat and obviously I didn\u2019t 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\u2019s still always been there but, yeah, definitely a bit of a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Hope the criticism goes to the selectors, not Maddinson. Bought in from obscurity with no FC form to open in a Test match abroad. Even if it worked it wasn\u2019t going to be a justifiable selection. #SAvAUS<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/U7jPpChU86<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jacob Landsmeer (@jlandsme_93) October 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Nic Maddinson\u2019s game against spin was referenced, so why was he opening?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\u2019s ability to play spin.<\/p>\n

[Nic] is a strong player, a very strong player, of spin and [that\u2019s] not to dismiss work against quick bowling,\u201d Bailey said last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably from that one-day wicket and looking at their [South Africa\u2019s] squad a little bit, I think it\u2019s half an expectation that\u2019s probably what we\u2019re going to get hit with in Durban.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given those words, opting to open with Maddinson was startling as there is a strong chance he faces no spin. Fans may<\/em> have been more understanding of the move if it meant Travis Head moved to five. That didn\u2019t eventuate.<\/p>\n

Maddinson\u2019s 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 \u2013 plumb LBW to a Mulder delivery that the Proteas opted not to review as they believed he got an inside edge.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Temba Bavuma missed the REVIEW off @CricketAus<\/a> Nic Maddinson on 0 off the bowling of @ProteasMenCSA<\/a> Wiaan Mulder #SAvAUS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PtFXtUXYS5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chacha Abdul Shakoor (@ChachaAbdulSh10) October 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Ultimately, Maddinson\u2019s a player who hadn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019 chopping and changing of the batting order represents confusion, especially when no player in the XI is under 30 years of age \u2013 an Australian first in Test cricket.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

That, along with a clearer picture of what the batting order looks like, is a must.<\/p>\n

The post Nic Maddinson\u2019s 33-ball duck in Durban exposes selectors and defies all logic<\/a> appeared first on CricBlog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Updated on 12 hours 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\u2019s retirement, with an SOS sent to Matt Renshaw to help fix the issue. One […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricketkidunyya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}