‘Disrespecting first class cricket’: Hayden sprays selectors for shock call-up
Aussie cricket legend Matthew Hayden has gone to town on selectors for sensationally reviving the Test career of Nic Maddinson.
The 34-year-old was suddenly added to the Australian squad and flown to South Africa late last week ahead of the series starting Friday.
Nic Maddinson is back in the Test squad. Getty
He was added to the touring squad alongside keeper-batter Sam Harper as the Aussies face an injury crisis of sorts with Josh Inglis and Cameron Green sidelined.
Maddinson, a left-hand batter from the Illawarra region, made his Test debut against South Africa in 2016 and played the last of three matches in the baggy green almost 10 years ago.
He hasn’t played a first-class match since March 2025, skipping the entire 2025-26 Sheffield Shield season and only playing white-ball cricket for New South Wales in recent times. He fought testicular cancer and was sidelined for most of last year.
While Maddinson was once considered a prodigious batting talent, his cricket career has been stalled at different times by injury, mental health issues, and then the cancer diagnosis.
But the fact he has been added to the Test squad while other contenders are toiling away on an Australia A tour in India in the hope of being selected, does not sit well with Hayden.
“Where we are at is that we are promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket,” the 54-year old said on the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast.
“And if we continue to lay that out and expect that a bloke averaging 35 is going to average 55 in Test match cricket, (selectors) 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 shit 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’s first-class average is 37.11 but he has had seasons averaging above 50 in Shield cricket when in his pomp.
Matthew Hayden was one of Australia’s great left handers. nna\YVlotis
Bailey defended the shock selection over the weekend and took aim at those criticising Maddinson’s comeback.
“He’s a player that, when he’s been at his best, I think his cricket ability stacks up as well as anyone’s,” Bailey said.
“If people are trying to run down a list of last year’s run scorers, that’s going to be a challenge for them.
"I don't think you can view this one and say it's disrespectful to state cricket because he hadn't played last year – it's not like (Maddinson) was sitting out because he said the wickets looked green or (too) challenging."
The Maddinson selection is a slap in the face to the likes of Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas, Campbell Kellaway, Peter Handscomb, and Jason Sangha, all of whom have been in India with the Australia A squad.
They had hoped to break into the Test squad if players were needed. Harper scored a century in the last tour game to earn his call-up to the Test squad as cover for the injured Inglis.
The Maddinson selection came at the same time it was revealed selectors wanted to recall Mitch Marsh to the Test squad, despite him retiring from Sheffield Shield cricket last year.
Selection chair George Bailey. Getty Images
Hayden says if players aren’t prepared to play Shield cricket, they don’t deserve to represent the country.
“I don’t care what Pat Cummins said about Mitch – if he doesn’t want to play Shield cricket … it’s a desire to front up,” Hayden said.
“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 (white ball) franchises.
“This is the fundamental problem we have.”
Fast bowling great Ryan Harris also said the Maddinson selection is a “kick in the guts” to Shield players.
“Nothing against Nic, he’s a good player… to see them go down that direction was a little bit disappointing,” Harris told Fox Sports News.
Aussie captain Cummins will confirm his line-up before the first ball on Friday.
