Maddinson and Shaw Named New South Wales Captains for New Season

Nic Maddinson has been appointed captain of New South Wales for the upcoming Sheffield Shield season, while Lachlan Shaw will lead the state's One-Day Cup side, following Jack Edwards' decision to step away from the captaincy.

Maddinson, 34, returns to the NSW leadership role for a second stint after previously captaining the side during the 2015-16 season. He missed the entire Sheffield Shield campaign last season while undergoing treatment for testicular cancer but has since returned to full health.

The veteran batter made five appearances for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League last season and also featured in a second XI fixture. He is now set to take charge of the NSW Blues in the longer format.

"Captaining the NSW Blues is a huge privilege, and I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunity to lead the Sheffield Shield team this season," Maddinson said. "Being entrusted with the New South Wales captaincy is something I don't take for granted, and I look forward to working alongside the playing group and coaching staff throughout the summer."

Shaw, meanwhile, has been handed the captaincy of the One-Day Cup side as NSW look to defend their title. The wicketkeeper-batter has only 14 List A appearances to his name but has been identified as part of new head coach Brad Haddin's plans to develop emerging leaders within the squad.

Known for his outstanding fielding ability, Shaw said he was excited by the opportunity to lead the team.

"I'm so excited to be leading the Blues' one-day team this season, and I'm immensely grateful for the opportunity," Shaw said. "We have a seriously talented playing group at the Blues, and I'm confident we have the makings of a team that can push for titles."

Edwards Steps Away From Leadership

Edwards has opted not to continue as captain this season, with the allrounder choosing to focus on his individual performance and workload management.

He was appointed One-Day Cup captain in 2024 before taking over the Sheffield Shield captaincy the following season in the absence of Moises Henriques.

Last season, Edwards led NSW in five Shield matches, while Nathan Lyon and Steven Smith each captained the side once. Kurtis Patterson then took over for the latter part of the campaign and also led NSW in their One-Day Cup final victory over Tasmania.

NSW have not won the Sheffield Shield since the COVID-interrupted 2019-20 season.

Edwards has also been selected in the Australia A squad for the upcoming four-day matches in India and will therefore miss the early stages of the domestic season. Shaw is part of Australia A's 50-over squad and is also expected to miss NSW's One-Day Cup fixture against Tasmania on October 13.

Haddin said the involvement of NSW players in Australian squads was an important part of their development.

"As a coach you want your players to be exposed to Australian squads as much as you possibly can," Haddin said. "That as a coach is a really pleasing thing because what they do is they go away, they learn from the elite of environments and they come back better players."

Haddin Begins New Era at NSW

The captaincy changes form part of a broader rebuild under Haddin, who has taken over as NSW head coach following Greg Shipperd's departure.

Haddin has assembled a new-look coaching staff, with former Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle and Johan Botha among the additions.

The new coach believes the squad is motivated to restore NSW to the top of Australian domestic cricket.

"We've got a really hungry group that want to make a difference at New South Wales," Haddin said. "They want to win titles, they care deeply about playing for New South Wales.

"We've got a lot of rebuilding to do, we've got some standards that we need to stick to and set, but all the players have been really responsive and really hungry to get some results for New South Wales."

With Maddinson taking charge of the Shield side and Shaw being given an opportunity to lead the one-day team, NSW will enter the new season with a fresh leadership structure and renewed ambitions across both formats.