“The hardest part was having to tell my son I couldn’t play with him,” - Former RCB opener on battle with cancer

A few good knocks in the Sheffield Shield for New South Wales and Nic Maddinson could well have been a part of Australia's playing XI, opening the batting during the Border-Gavaskar series in 2024-2025. The Australian batter has represented Australia in three Test matches and six T20Is. He has also played three Indian Premier League (IPL) matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

However, the 33-year-old had to ditch his Australia comeback hopes and fight a bigger battle with testicular cancer. The southpaw said that the toughest part about this journey was telling his two-year-old son, August, that he couldn't play with him. Even after taking August to the park, which is a five-minute walk from Maddinson's house, the Nowra-born had to get himself some rest.

“The hardest part was having to tell August I couldn’t play with him. I was just so physically exhausted that I couldn’t get off the couch. He understood quite a lot of what was going on. He’s a pretty intelligent kid. He was always rubbing my hair and asking what happened to it," Maddinson told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“We just told him that I was sick, and I was taking some medicine that made my hair fall out. We told him I was going to be OK," he added.

Maddinson had decided to keep his fight against the illness away from the limelight. However, he recently revealed the hardships he endured during the journey. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa and all-rounder Moises Henriques were a few of the cricketers who knew about his battle and supported him during the same.

After fighting tooth and nail with the dreaded illness, Maddinson got music to his ears when he was cleared to play cricket.

“My recent tests were all good, and I can go about getting back into cricket, which I love,” Maddinson mentioned.

On Thursday, October 16, the left-handed batter had a centre wicket net session with a few Blues squad members. While he fared well with the bat, his fitness is gradually getting back to the level required to play competitive cricket.

I would still love to play Test cricket again, but I’m more realistic: Maddinson

While Maddinson hopes to wear the Baggy Green once again, he is more focused on being able to tell the selectors that he is available for selection.

“It’s tough question to answer right now. Yes and no. I would still love to play Test cricket again, but I’m more realistic. The older you get, the less likely it is to happen. I had a really good opportunity last year and I just didn’t really grab it. I’m just really excited to try and play cricket again. I was dropped at the end of last year, so I’m not expecting to be straight back in the side. The most important thing would be to say I am available. That would be a nice day," Maddinson said.