The cricket world is rallying around Nic Maddinson after the former Aussie Test star went public about his battle against testicular cancer this year. The flashy NSW opener hasn’t played for the Blues since March, having spent the majority of 2025 facing a ‘scary’ health ordeal that involved undergoing chemotherapy and having a tumour removed.
Outside of his family and teammates, Maddison’s situation was not widely known, but he revealed details of the brutal health battle in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald. Maddinson says it wasn’t long after his most recent game for NSW in March that he received the life-changing diagnosis, and the awful news that the cancer had spread to his abdominal lymph nodes and lung.
Aussie cricket star Nic Maddinson (L) hasn’t played for NSW since March after revealing that he’s been battling cancer throughout 2025. Pic: Getty
“To know that I caught it probably as early as I could have, and it still spread into other parts of my body, that was scary,” Maddinson told SMH. “I just think it’s so important if you have anything you’re worried about, get it checked out.”
The chemotherapy took a massive toll on Maddinson, who has been forced to spend the majority of his days on the family couch in Bondi this year. He revealed that one of the hardest things about it was not being able to take his two-year-old son August out to play, with even a five-minute walk to the local park leaving him exhausted.
But after months of doctors appointments and chemotherapy sessions, Maddison can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nine weeks of chemo ended in July and the 33-year-old was then able to have a one-off hit at Cricket NSW headquarters only two weeks later.
Nic Maddinson is seen here in action for the New South Wales Blues in the Sheffield Shield in February, weeks before his scary cancer diagnosis was revealed. Pic: Getty
Nic Maddinson pushing for return to cricket later this year
And after going public with his worrying health scare, Maddinson is now targeting a return to cricket before the end of this year. NSW coach Greg Shipperd, who is in Melbourne for the Blues’ Sheffield Shield clash against Victoria, said it was pleasing on Thursday to watch live video of Maddinson training back in Sydney.
“We get to watch training as we’re watching the game here – so it’s live cricket everywhere and he was in the nets (on Thursday) … and hitting the ball quite nicely,” Shipperd said. “But it’s been a really difficult time for him… one step at a time. But it’s just great to him healthy and playing sport. All good luck to him.”
RELATED:
Maddinson played three Tests for Australia in 2016, as well as making six T20 appearances for his country. He could have even been in the mix to return to the Australian Test fold earlier this year, had circumstances been different. Maddinson also played for Victoria before returning to NSW.
“He’s very close to our group, he means a lot to our group,” Victorian coach Chris Rogers said. “When you hear that kind of news, it’s never great. Hopefully he’s on the road of recovery.” It’s a sentiment shared across the cricket world, with Maddinson’s horrible revelation sparking an outpouring of support for the popular batter.
with AAP