Nic Maddinson’s return to the BBL after two years on the outer ended with the bat in remarkable circumstances, retiring out during the Sydney Thunder’s six-wicket loss to the Hobart Hurricanes on Saturday night.
Amid David Warner’s record-breaking 130 not out, the 34-year-old selflessly retired at the end of the 18th over, just two balls after his captain brought up an epic century.
The only place to stream every match of the 2025/26 KFC BBL LIVE is on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports. | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
After a slow start, Maddinson hit his straps through the middle overs, launching two towering sixes in his first Big Bash appearance in 739 days.
But after scoring just five runs from the final seven balls of his innings, the left-hander briefly discussed his own departure from the crease — despite not being dismissed.
With Warner agreeing to the move, Maddinson jogged from the field to allow big-hitting teammate Daniel Sams the chance to see out the final two overs.
Sams was hardly required, with Warner piling on 27 runs from his final six balls to lift the Thunder to a commanding 4/205. Sams still finished on 14 not out from just six balls, with the decision ultimately proving sound despite the Thunder’s eventual defeat.
“He actually said (to retire) two overs before, and I just said to him: ‘Look, there is a shorter side towards the back end’,” Warner told Fox Cricket.
“He just felt like he was soaking it up a little bit too much and wasn’t hitting it as cleanly as he would like.
“He selflessly said: ‘I reckon I just go’, so I let him make the decision.
“I can’t recall it happening, but it’s happening more these days. Sams is one of our ‘Surge’ hitters, and we just felt with him coming in fresh at the back end, we might be able to get a couple away.”
For reasons relating to the correct measurement of any potential Duckworth-Lewis Stern (DLS) score, Maddinson is officially adjudged as ‘out’ for his act, meaning he could not return to the crease after if required. Subsequently, in a far less important consequence, his Big Bash batting average will be lessened given his ‘dismissal’.
Australian great Mark Waugh was a fan of Maddinson’s selfless act, believing it should, and will, happen more often in the coming years.
‘Start Again?!’ – 2 Wickets in 2 Balls | 00:57
“I like it with a left and right-hander at the crease,” Waugh said.
“With the game developing in all different ways, it’s definitely a tactic I think should happen more — and will happen more. You just need a couple of people to do it, then coaches will get onto it.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan added: “Excellent from Nic Maddinson, understanding Daniel Sams is waiting on the bench.
“It just says Maddinson’s a high-class team player.”
Maddinson is just the second player in 15 years of the Big Bash to be dismissed ‘retired out’, with Joe Clarke listed as the same dismissal after retiring for a second time injured during an innings for the Melbourne renegades back in December of 2023.
A broken thumb last summer ruled Maddinson out of BBL|14, before an unfortunate bout of testicular cancer forced him to undergo chemotherapy over the winter.
Discussion about this post