Collins: Does Maddinson selection undermine Sheffield Shield?

Ahead of the second Test between South Africa and Australia, SEN Cricket’s Adam Collins has shared his concerns for batters in the Sheffield Shield following the shock selection of Nic Maddinson.

The decision to pick Maddinson as an opener for the first Test looked precarious after a 33-ball duck in his first innings, but a rapid knock of 48 in the second innings showed he had something to offer at the Test level.

“I think the fact that they won, and he made a contribution in the second innings takes a bit of pressure off that decision in the shorter-term,” Collins told SEN's Captain Run.

“Is it going to be the long-term solution? A lot would need to go right, I think, for Maddinson to be the long-term opener.

“And by long-term, what I'm really saying here is, the run they go on here in South Africa, the home test against New Zealand, the sesquicentenary Test match, the test in India, the tests in England, the probability of a world Test final - that is a marathon, not a sprint, but it'll feel like a sprint.

“There's so much Test cricket back-to-back and to assume Maddinson will end up being the opener for all of that, I think a lot would need to go right.

However, Collins is wary of the manner in which Maddinson was selected with the potential for it to undermine the Sheffield Shield with batters in good form missing out.

Maddinson hadn't played a first-class game of cricket since March 2025 as he was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly after. Prior to that, the former Victorian had been averaging 52.37 between 2019 and 2024 in the Shield. His long lay-off from red-ball cricket and relatively short runway to being called to the Test squad drew some criticism.

Nathan McSweeney has toiled away in County Cricket and captained the Australia A series against India in September, whilst the likes of Sam Konstas, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper and recently dropped Jake Weatherald continue to push their claim to put on the baggy green.

“The more I've thought about it, the more this could potentially become a problem as what does that mean for Sheffield Shield cricketers,” Collins said.

“Are they going to feel that they've been out there playing Shield cricket, been putting up reasonable numbers and it kind of feels like for what purpose?

“How does Nathan McSweeney feel at the moment? How does Peter Handscomb feel at the moment? How does Jake Weatherald feel at the moment? And will it actually impact their cricket?

“What sort of price signal does it send to the market, when you've got someone who's essentially gazumping the system.”

However, Collins believes Australia will name an unchanged side following the 214-run victory in the first Test.

It comes as reports emerge that Cameron Green will be unavailable for the second Test as he continues to recover from an abdominal strain he sustained in the final ODI against South Africa.

“I think it's reasonable to say that Cam Green, isn't really in the frame for the test,” Collins said.

“It's entirely possible that he's fit and raring to go from a batting perspective, but also Andrew McDonald has said to us that it's improbable that he'd be bowling in this test series, so I think that they're playing it conservatively with Green, knowing that he is such an important asset to that team.

“They don't want to do something here pre-emptive that could run the risk of him being out of more cricket. Remembering that it wasn't just the first injury, the shoulder injury which was keeping him away from the bowling crease initially in the one day series. It was the abdominal strain that followed it, so it's sort of two injuries side by side."

Australia are expected to select their side in the leadup to the second Test which kicks off this Sunday at 7:00pm (AEDT).

Catch every ball of the series live across the SEN network.