“To be honest I didn’t know I was going to play,” Madhevere said. “Was told [on Saturday] I wasn’t going to play but found out that Sean wasn’t doing too well with the elbow and that’s when the coach told me that I was playing.
“I normally get nervous the day before, especially when I know I’ll be playing, but today I was kind of relaxed.”
However, Madhevere wants to take on the No. 3 role in a more permanent capacity having made 5 and 2 in the position on the previous occasions he had batted there, in the recent series against India.
“I see myself batting there, it’s one of the crucial positions when you want to be exposed to the pressure, so that’s one of the key areas and I quite like that challenge,” he said. “It also helps me grow as a cricketer if I get exposed to it right now, then it will be easier for me in the future.”
He built steadily against seam and spin, reaching his fifty from 67 balls, and said he found the Townsville surface similar to those he had played on while at school in South Africa.
“I quite enjoyed it,” he said. “Got exposed to those kind of conditions while I was at school so I knew what was happening.”
The second ODI takes place on Wednesday.