BBL, Sheffield Shield – Nic Maddinson considers return to Test cricket ‘many days’

That performance came to the fore in the Shield season when runs were hard to come by and Maddinson’s name began to be called for a return to Test cricket. His last three Tests came in 2016-17 against South Africa and Pakistan when the selectors revamped the batting order, but he made 27 runs in four innings.

“Maybe [think about it] too many days so it’s not going well,” Maddinson told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously throughout the winter and the off-season you’ve got other things going on with the family at home, but when you first get into cricket, we’ve been practicing outside with the middle sticks, [Josh] Hazlewood again [Mitchell] Starc has started to pass, it’s hard not to think about your career.

“I love playing the game and I want to help New South Wales win but also from my point of view I still feel like I have something to offer in international cricket and I would like to get that opportunity again. There is a lot of encouragement from people who are still playing because Australia is there for me.”

He also believes that there is no comparison between the player he is now and the one who started playing Test cricket. In total in six seasons with Victoria he averaged 50.63 in Shield cricket.

“It’s ten times better, maybe more,” he said. “I think I’m probably a better player than I was three or four years ago. I feel like the runs in the Shield last year were very difficult to get from some of the wickets we finished. Opening the batting was always a good thing. batting but it wasn’t really my strength. Being able to score the runs I did last year gave me confidence. It’s great, I’ve been able to adapt and play a different style for a year and I feel like I’ve made really good progress.”

Maddinson’s successful finish in the Shield came after a difficult BBL campaign for Melbourne Renegades in which he was dropped despite being captain after 48 runs in four innings. He entered the tournament after very little cricket after recovering from an ACL injury. His overall T20 record is low at an average of 20.30 from 134 innings but he hopes to revive his game with the Thunder.

“I am disappointed in the way I have been since I left the Sydney Sixers [in 2018] doing well,” he said. “I found it a real challenge to come into the BBL without a lot of cricket [last season] for having such a long break. For me, the important thing is to have good quality cricket to get into the BBL and develop your game from there.

“Of course there are stages in people’s careers where you get a little quiet and you can bounce back. Last year I was a bit disappointed because the only thing holding me back from feeling like I would do well was just money. There were a few technical changes and bad habits I got into since training for the T20 that threw me off my form​​​​ Everything Moving forward is about trying to find a game plan that works no matter where I go in the order.”

“Think I opened with him for the first time when I was 16 in a 2nd XI game,” said Maddinson. “To think we can bat together again, it’s been a long time coming. That top order, you’ve got Cam Bancroft in that, Ollie Davies, Sam Billings, it’s a great looking order and I hope I have a part in it. That’s somewhere else.”