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News yesterday that Shaun Marsh is set to be unavailable for the second Test against Pakistan may have offered embattled batsman Nic Maddinson a lifeline.
The 24-year-old has had a horrific start to his Test career, making just five runs in his first three knocks. Most pundits and fans agree Maddinson has looked out of his depth, in stark contrast to fellow batting rookies Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw, who have flourished.
Now the question about what should be done with Maddinson rests on the fitness of Marsh. Reports yesterday suggested Marsh had been all but ruled out of the Boxing Day Test because of the broken finger he suffered last month.
X-ray tests in the coming days will give a more accurate timeframe on Marsh’s return to cricket.
If those results suggest the West Australian batsman should be ready for the third Test against Pakistan, in just over two weeks’ time, then there would be little point in dropping Maddinson.
In such a scenario Marsh would surely come straight back into the side at Maddinson’s expense.
What value, then, would there be in dumping Maddinson for Boxing Day and including a new batsman for just one Test, before they made way for Marsh?
Marsh’s recent record deserves to make him an automatic inclusion, as does his skill in Asian conditions, with the four-Test tour of India looming large. The equation changes, however, if the selectors decide it is too risky to rush Marsh back into the side at all against Pakistan.
This would mean there are two Tests available for a number six batsman before Marsh returns. It could then be worth sending Maddinson back to domestic cricket and offering a Test opportunity to the likes of young batsmen Kurtis Patterson, Travis Head and Jake Lehmann, or even batting all-rounder Hilton Cartwright.
At this stage, all four of those cricketers look to be better Test prospects than Maddinson. The New South Welshman has undoubted gifts. It remains to be seen, though, whether he can harness them. His selection was truly strange given Australia were seeking to add steel to their batting line-up after a raft of collapses this year.
With his impatience and questionable shot selection, Maddinson did not fit the bill. I am far from writing him off as a Test player. Maddinson is talented enough to play Tests. He just needs to tighten his game up. Test cricket is not kind to players fond of aimless wafts outside off stump.
And cricket supporters are not kind to players they feel were picked without justification.
Maddinson was the prototypical bolt-from-the-blue selection. After Australia’s capitulation against the Proteas at Hobart, not once did I see or hear his name being mentioned among the raft of cricketers suggested as inclusions for the third Test.
Maddinson’s ascension to the Test team likely shocked even himself. His unexpected selection meant he was always going to face greater media and public scrutiny and be given less time to settle. Right now he is the cricketing version of a dead man walking.
It’s up to the selectors to decide whether they let him traipse on, with the Reaper looking over his shoulder, or whether they offer a chance to another young cricketer on Boxing Day.