Maxwell, Maddinson return via Premier Cricket

Australian representatives Glenn Maxwell and Nic Maddinson took initial steps in returning to professional cricket on Saturday when they made appearances in Victoria's Premier Cricket competition, but just when they return to state duties remains unclear.

The pair have sat out of cricket in recent times due to matters pertaining to mental wellbeing, with Maxwell's most recent appearance at the top level coming last month when he featured for Australia in the Gillette T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka.

Maddinson's excellent start to the Marsh Sheffield Shield season with Victoria saw him win selection in the Australia A squad that took on Pakistan in Perth earlier this month, but the 27-year-old withdrew ahead of the match on mental health grounds.

A Cricket Victoria spokesperson indicated there was no timeline for the duo's return to Shield cricket, but Victoria's cricket team operations boss Shaun Graf indicated Maddinson was a chance to play in the four-day match against New South Wales at the MCG that starts on Friday.

"I would think Maddinson would definitely be available for selection. He has been cleared to play by our medicos as per normal," Graf told Fairfax Media.

Maddinson looked to be in good touch on Saturday when he contributed a half-century for St Kilda in their five-wicket victory over Casey-South Melbourne in Victoria's Premier Cricket competition.

Playing in a star-studded St Kilda side that included Test hopeful Marcus Harris and Victoria skipper Peter Handscomb, Maddinson scored 58 from 85 deliveries during a fruitful 118-run stand with century maker Damon Egan.

Egan's unbeaten 137 helped St Kilda chase down their victory target of 330, with Maddinson, Harris (52) and Handscomb (21) all making valuable contributions in the triumph.

Maxwell was also in action in Victoria's Premier Cricket competition on Saturday, with the talented allrounder playing a small part in Fitzroy Doncaster's easy victory over Geelong.

The 31-year-old managed five not out with the bat, facing two balls before his team declared, before picking up two wickets with the ball during a 19-over spell in Geelong's second innings.

Highly-rated youngster Will Pucovski sat out Melbourne's Premier Cricket clash against the Monash Tigers on Saturday.

In other notable Premier Cricket performances around the country on Saturday:

- Western Australia duo Ashton Turner and Shaun Marsh warmed up for this week's Marsh One-Day Cup final when they made a rare appearance for Fremantle against Willeton. The pair looked to be in good touch ahead of Tuesday’s domestic ODI title decider against Queensland at AB Field, with Turner scoring 49 before being trapped LBW by Western Australia teammate D'Arcy Short. An unusually patient Marsh hit 42 from 106 deliveries as Fremantle posted a respectable 9-256 from their 90 overs at Burrendah Park.

- Talented Queensland batsman Sam Heazlett made a successful return from a finger injury by scoring a half-century for Redlands in their match against the Gold Coast at Peter Burge Oval. Heazlett has scored 278 runs at 69.50 from four Marsh Cup games this season, but a broken finger he picked up at training has sidelined the 24-year-old for the past month. His knock of 53 for Redlands was promising as he looks to return to Queensland's side for this week's Marsh Cup final.

- Spin duo Adam Zampa and Steve O'Keefe impressed in their respective states on Saturday, with Zampa picking up excellent figures of 4-67 to help East Torrens to a thrilling three-run triumph over Kensington in South Australia's Premier Cricket competition. Meanwhile, O'Keefe contributed 3-27 as Manly-Warringah picked up a four-wicket win over Bankstown in Sydney.

- Australia T20 batsman Ben McDermott hit an unbeaten 98 to pilot Lindisfarne to a four-wicket triumph over Greater Northern in Tasmania's Premier Cricket competition. McDermott's knock included seven fours and four sixes as Lindisfarne reached their victory target of 308 in the 54th over in Launceston.

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