Australia Cricket: Matthew Hayden Hits Out at Selectors for Picking Nic Maddinson

Australia Cricket: Matthew Hayden Hits Out at Selectors for Picking Nic Maddinson

The former Australia batter expressed strong displeasure over Nic Maddinson’s squad selection, sparking fresh debate over the national team’s selection strategy.

Former Australian opening batter Matthew Hayden didn't mince his words, launching a scathing attack on the current Australian selection panel for bringing back Nic Maddinson into the squad for the three-match test series against South Africa.

The legendary batter did not seem to be convinced about the Australian think tank for bringing back the 34-year-old considering he hadn’t played first class cricket since 2025. It is worth noting that the player made his way to the national side after battling a tough period, including undergoing treatment for testicular cancer.

Maddinson’s selection was prompted by Australia’s growing injury concerns ahead of the first test in Durban. Josh Inglis was ruled out with an injury to his finger, the big lad Cameron Green continues to be in doubt for the series opening. But Hayden believes that the circumstances do not make Maddinson an obvious choice for Test Cricket.

Speaking on the All Over Bar The Car Cricket podcast, the 100+ test match veteran questioned whether Maddinson could make any meaningful contribution to the Australian team during the tour. He said, “where we are at is that we are promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we have seen in a generation of cricket. And if we continue to lay that out and expect that a bloke averaging 35 is going to average 55 in Test match cricket, George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide, you are dreaming. I will just put it that simply. You are frigging dreaming.

And you are piling up this dog s*** explanation, and you are, in my opinion, disrespecting first-class cricket. Absolutely dead set you are. You should be picking guys that are averaging 45 or more, and you can’t, because they don’t want to play.”

Maddinson has not played a test match since 2016-17 when he managed to score 27 runs in three matches. His first-class average is 37.1l. Hayden mentioned that Sam Harper could have been a better alternative. The wicket-keeper batter had already impressed everyone on the Australia A tour of India, where he scored a century, before being promoted to be part of the national Test squad.

The Mitch Marsh Debate

The former opener also questioned the selection of Mitchell Marsh, arguing that his limited involvement in the red-ball cricket even at the state-level cricket should have been taken into account, even though captain Pat Cummin continues to favour his selection in the side. “They don't want to play this version of the game. Mitch is a good example. He is making millions of dollars playing cricket all over the world for franchises. This is the fundamental problem we have.” quipped Hayden.