Though most of the vitriol was directed towards the Australian selectors and coaching group rather than the left-hander himself, what was lost in the whole commentary was that this was Maddinson’s first Test innings in nearly a decade. Not to forget what he had to overcome to get back to this stage over the last 18 months. And even if the harshest critics tried to fire their bullets around Maddinson, insisting that they weren’t directed at him, it was unavoidable that his reputation as a Test cricketer would end up as collateral damage.
As we found out, the answer to that last question is an overwhelming yes. Especially after Maddinson ended up producing a stunning assault in the second innings. Even if it was cut short at 48, it was exactly the kind of third innings fillip the Aussies needed after the South Africans had clawed their way closer to the first innings total than expected. So, despite having started the game with a 33-ball duck that will be a topic of discussion for years to come, Maddinson still ended up leaving Durban as a serious contributor in a famous Test win for his team.
You wonder where it leaves the 34-year-old though, not just in the immediate future, as in the Gquberha Test that starts on Sunday, but over the next 7-8 months as Australia continue on their legacy-defining run around the cricket world. A Green return would happen the moment he’s deemed fit to even play as a batter. But that could easily mean the moving from Beau Webster with Alex Carey potentially slotting back to No 7. What Maddinson does need to get himself into the squad for the home summer against New Zealand are at least a couple more significant scores, that too made with the same intensity with which he recorded his highest Test score in Durban.
It was a role that he seemed destined to play three seasons ago, when he was finishing his time in Victoria as arguably the most attacking opener in the country. The perfect replacement for the retiring David Warner. It’s been well-documented that his shock recall came on the back of no first-class cricket in 18 months. But what his second innings proves is that it wasn’t a specific batter that the selectors were looking for, it was more a very specific archetype of batter, and Maddinson was the only one they thought could fit the bill.
Turns out it was a calculated gamble, doubly so since it allowed Renshaw to occupy a role that the top brass see him playing on Indian pitches, as the enforcer against spin. It doesn’t automatically mean the Queenslander, fresh from his 190 and 82 in Durban, won’t move back to the top of the order at some point either. What his prolonged success will also allow is for Travis Head to feel a bit more comfortable with the idea of rotating around from the spot he so proudly occupies currently and the one that got him all his success at No 5. To the extent that Australia could have a three-man tag-team run with their opening positions.