Nic Maddinson withdraws from Australia A squad on mental health grounds
After Glenn Maxwell, another Australian has cited mental health issues for his withdrawal from a game. Cricket Australia announced on Saturday that batsman Nic Maddinson has withdrawn from Australia A's match against Pakistan on mental health grounds. This is however, not the first time Maddinson has taken a break from the game. In 2017, he took some time off after being dropped from the Australia Test squad.
Maddinson has played three Tests for Australia in 2016 and was eyeing a comeback but this comes as another setback to the left-handed opening batsman. However, Cricket Australia (CA) supported the decision and said that they are behind him.
"Nic has made the right decision and we are all behind him. It is braver to speak up than to suffer in silence and I applaud Nic for having the courage to put his health first." Australia A coach Graeme Hick said in a statement.
Cameron Bancroft, who was dropped from the Test side after a lacklustre Ashes, will replace Maddinson in the XI for the three-day, day-night match against the visitors, starting Monday at the Perth Stadium.
Maddinson’s withdrawal comes just over a week after Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell pulled out midway through the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka over mental health issues.
Earlier, Maxwell withdrew during the T20I series against Sri Lanka and decided to take an an indefinite break from all cricket
