Nic Maddinson had long been on the selectors' radar (he had already played two Twenty20 internationals), but he had a reputation as a young man in a hurry at the crease and was seen as having a reckless streak.

But for Cricket NSW state talent manager David Freedman, Maddinson earning a baggy green for the dead rubber in Adelaide was just reward for a young cricketer who had always been tipped for success.

"I think he's found that perfect balance now between aggression and recklessness," Freedman said about Maddinson's growing maturity at the crease. "He's been earmarked as a special talent for a long time."

Freedman first laid eyes on a 15-year old Maddinson in an under-17 City-Country game at Bowral. The sight of the youngster toying with the older bowlers confirmed to Freedman that he was watching a future star of the game.

"Even then you saw what a beautiful ball-striker he was," Freedman said. "That rare ability to make seemingly good balls look like bad ones; to play both sides of the wicket, off front and back foot. He was a great mover in the field and had a rocket arm.

"So even at a young age you could tell he was a pretty special talent."

Maddinson, now 24, made his Sheffield Shield debut when he was just 18, hitting a ton in that match (the youngest player to score a century on first-class debut for NSW) that sent shock waves through the domestic scene.

"He played shield cricket very young," Freedman said. "I remember his debut hundred. He was hitting perfectly good balls over the top of cover."

Maddinson rose quickly through the ranks at the Blues, but his success was matched by a flurry of criticism. The pundits could see an abundance of talent, but his, at times, reckless approach and poor shot selection were staining his burgeoning reputation.

Freedman felt the criticism wasn't always a fair assessment of the player he has been involved with for almost a decade.

"Even as a 19-year-old, I saw him make 130-odd from 330 balls at a Blacktown shield game," he said. "So he's always had that ability to play that long innings.

"It just comes with experience and knowing his game, knowing what works for him now. Obviously it took a few years for that to kick in.

"He's always going to be that aggressive player, but I've seen him play some really disciplined innings. The shield game in Christchurch [last season], he got 70 off 70 balls in the first innings and then played with a broken finger in the second for 26 not out in over three hours."

Freedman knows a thing or two about young prospects. During his 12 years in the youth pathways program at Cricket NSW, he has seen a host of prodigies come and go, including Steve Smith.

Comparing the Australian captain to Maddinson is unfair at this stage, but Freedman said he had seen plenty of Smith in Maddinson.

"You could tell they had something special," Freedman said. "They are both born cricketers: just the way they conducted themselves on the field; the way they moved on the field; the way they could take the game by the scruff of the neck.

"They're different players, but that ability to take the game forward, to play off both feet, that game awareness in the field, they definitely both possessed that from a young age."

Unfortunately for Maddinson his Test debut did not go to plan, falling for a duck to an excellent ball from Kagiso Rabada. But Freedman is hopeful the Australian selectors will keep faith with Maddinson for the first Test against Pakistan, starting on December 15.

"You're not going to judge him on one innings," Freedman said. "The selectors obviously picked him for a reason. We've seen a generational change, and I think they're keen to give these young players an extended run."

For Maddinson, he just needs to continue what he has been doing for NSW since he was 15 and Freedman is certain he will be set for a long career with the Test side.

"He knows himself a lot better now, knows his game, knows what works for him," Freedman said. "He's really disciplined with his routines. I think the Australian selectors have been looking for a reason to pick him and now they've got it."