Australia’s Nic Maddinson shines in BBL for Sydney Thunder after cancer battle: ‘Just want to play’

Nic Maddinson made a successful comeback to the BBL after braving testicular cancer diagnosed last year. (cricket.com.au)

The Australian men’s international summer heavily revolved around the Ashes and how Australia were simply too good for England, despite not having the likes of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon playing all five Tests, and Josh Hazlewood missing the entirety of the series.

Yet, another story may be in contention for being the most emotional and heart-warming of the lot. Australian batter Nic Maddinson scored the winning run for the Sydney Thunder against Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League match on Monday, staying unbeaten on 30 off 17 balls.

The left-hander, who has played three Tests and six T20Is for Australia, the last of which came in 2018, has come back to the game after fighting a bigger battle – his recovery from testicular cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2025.

Naturally, then, winning a game of cricket on Monday or even wearing the Australian jersey again does not feel as daunting as it might have felt otherwise. Maddinson admitted that the match on Monday was the ‘most fun’ he had had while playing the sport in a while.

“It’s probably as much fun as I’ve had playing cricket for a long time. Six months ago, just to be out on the field and playing is something I wasn’t sure could happen this quickly,” Maddinson told AAP.

Nic Maddinson has gone FULL throttle with back-to-back sixes in the #PowerSurge! 🚀 @originenergy #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/uOLgjjrOIS

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 12, 2026

Having recovered from the dreaded disease, Maddinson admits that he was playing cricket with ‘a different attitude’, adding that he was perhaps playing a bit better than he was 12-18 months ago.

“It’s probably just a different attitude to it all. I just want to play. I thought I had a good opportunity at the start of last summer to try and put my hand up and it didn’t work out. Now it’s just about enjoying playing and whether I’ve got two years left or five years left, I don’t really know.

“But I’m still loving it, I’m enjoying it as much as I ever have and I’m still looking to improve. I think I’m probably better now than what I was 12 or 18 months ago as well. As long as that’s happening, I’ll keep looking to play,” he said.

Recalling the recovery period, Maddinson said that not having the energy to even walk up the road or take his son to the playground was the most challenging aspect for him.

“My son was two-and-a-half years old and just wants to play. To not be able to have the energy to do that was probably the hard thing, or not have the energy to walk up the road and take him to the playground,” he said.