Durban, Oct 9 (IANS) Nic Maddinson’s fairytale call-up to the Test side earned a special nod when he was picked for the Playing XI for the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead here on Friday.
18 months after undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer, the left-handed batter is now set to open the innings along with Travis Head after being named in the Playing XI.
This will be his first Test in 10 years after he last played in Melbourne against Pakistan in 2016.
Australia captain Pat Cummins praised Maddinson for his form after Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. “I think he’s really settled where his game is at. He’s shown good form. No Australians have had a lot of cricket in the last six months, but I feel like he’s really well-placed,” Cummins said at toss.
Maddinson scored 126 in the One-Day Cup for New South Wales against Victoria on his return and, combined with an injury to Cameron Green, he was called into the national side.
Coming to the Playing XIs, Australia have retained Marnus Labuschagne at No.3 after his century in the warm-up fixture, while Steve Smith remains the mainstay.
Matt Renshaw is slated to come in at No.5, leaving his opening position for Maddinson as Alex Carey stays the No.1 wicketkeeper. Beau Webster will look to fill in for Green.
The Aussies have fielded their famous pace trio of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and Scott Boland missed out, with Nathan Lyon coming in as the lone spinner.
South Africa had named their Playing XI a day before the match as Anrich Nortje returned after more than three years, while Kagiso Rabada missed out due to his hamstring injury.
Dane Paterson and Gerald Coetzee are also out as the Proteas went with two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and off-spinner Simon Harmer.
Playing XIs:
Australia: Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey(w), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma(c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje
–IANS
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