Steve Waugh says time is right for forgotten 'talent'

Fri, 1 Nov 2019, 4:24 am

The time is finally right for Nic Maddinson to earn a Test recall, former Australian skipper Steve Waugh says.

While Waugh admitted Maddinson wasn't ready for his 2016 baggy green debut, he was now convinced the Victorian batsman was worthy of filling what he felt were two vacancies in Australia's top six ahead of the two-Test series against Pakistan.

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Maddinson was once considered Australia's forgotten man after falling off the radar following his underwhelming Test stint three years ago.

The talented left-hander never seemed to recover from his dismissal for a 12-ball duck by South Africa's lively Kagiso Rabada on Test debut under lights with a seaming pink ball at Adelaide in November 2016.

Steve Waugh (pictured left) said Nic Maddinson (pictured right) is ready for a test recall. (Getty Images)

When Maddinson was finally dropped he had amassed just 27 runs at 6.75.

And he appeared well behind the pecking order with Travis Head, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski all considered front-runners for a Test nod.

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But Waugh believed Maddinson had done enough to earn a return for the first Test against Pakistan starting in Brisbane on November 21 after his heroics for Victoria.

The former NSW batsman is the Sheffield Shield's leading run scorer, boosting his aggregate with a lone hand in Victoria's first innings in their current clash against Tasmania in Hobart.

Nic Maddinson of Victoria celebrates after reaching a century during day one of the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and South Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Maddinson slashed 69 off just 68 balls in Victoria's first dig of 127 to boost his Shield aggregate to 367 runs at 91.75.

"He is definitely a chance. He has played Test cricket before but he was picked probably not at the right time," Waugh told AAP.

"But he is an enormous talent. There's never been any doubt about that.

"He's scoring runs and he will come back (into Test cricket) a better player.

"He is definitely in the framework now he has the skills. The signs are really good."

Contenders push for recall

Victorian No.3 Pucovski again failed to push his Test claim in the Shield clash with the Tigers, falling for seven on Friday after his first dig of three.

But Victoria's Harris (60) and ex-Test batsman Peter Handscomb (52) impressed in the second innings as the visitors tried to stay in the fight against Tasmania.

Waugh did not envy the Test selectors before they named their batting order with only Steve Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Wade considered batting locks ahead of the series against Pakistan.

But he was confident the cream would rise to the top in Shield cricket.

"The top-six is not settled. Australian coach Justin Langer has said that two spots are up for grabs which is probably fair," he said.

"They have experienced players there but there are some opportunities there for batsmen to really cement their spots (in Shield cricket).

"But it's a great time to be in the Australian cricket side. We have fast bowlers capable of taking 20 wickets and once we have the batting line-up settled we will be very hard to beat."