Nic Maddinson returns to Test cricket after cancer battle- out for 33-ball duck in SA vs AUS 1st Test

The left-handed opening batter of the Australian side, Nic Maddinson, has made a fairytale comeback to the international cricket after batting with the cancer battle. He found his place in the opening position of the Australian playing XI during the opening Test of the three-match series against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban. 

Maddinson was the only change from the XI that played the second Test against Bangladesh in Mackay in August as he replaced Jake Weatherald in the team. The 34-year-old played his last Test match against Pakistan in 2016 during the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Nic Maddinson’s Test return after testicular cancer treatment

Maddinson found a lump in his body at the start of 2025. The scans confirmed that it was testicular cancer, and he had surgery immediately to remove it. But more tests seven weeks later showed that the cancer had spread to different parts of his abdominal lymph nodes and lung.

His wife, Bianca Maddinson, was also pregnant with their second child when he began chemotherapy and had to stop her job as a dentist to look after their son while Maddinson underwent the treatment. He would be at the hospital between 11 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, followed by a sleep.

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Maddinson would force himself to eat dinner. The sleep cycle was weird. He completed the chemotherapy on July 14 and had to wait another couple of months before he was cleared to resume full training. The batter returned to first-class cricket after 579 days, having last played in March 2025. It’s the longest period an Australian has gone without playing a first-class game before a men’s Test match.  

How Maddinson’s comeback ended in a 33-ball duck at Kingsmead

Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, won the toss and decided to bat first on a dry surface, expecting the ball to spin as the game would progress. The challenge was incredibly tough for Maddinson, who faced several seaming and swinging deliveries from Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen.

His 33-ball duck finally ended when he went chasing after a ball that was not short or wide enough. He went through the shot and managed to get the under-edge onto the stumps. He got an early reprieve when the Proteas didn’t take the review.  

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Just after the lunch break, Australia lost Steve Smith for 25 runs, while Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed on the final ball of the first session. Both Jansen and Mulder shared two wickets each.

Brief Scores: Australia 115/4 (Marnus Labuschagne 37, Wiaan Mulder 2/21) vs South Africa