Haddin reveals `daughter’s battle against cancer` helped him play better in Ashes

Sydney –  Brad Haddin has credited his second coming as an Australian cricketer to the perspective offered by his daughter’s battle against cancer, according to reports.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Haddin, who struck 118 against England in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval on Friday, said the health scare gave him a new outlook on cricket.

He said that it showed him that cricket was just a game.

Haddin was on tour in the West Indies in March last year when his then 17-month-old daughter Mia fell ill and she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of cancer most common in infants, the report said.

Haddin returned to Australia and he didn’t play Test cricket again for a year, losing his status as first-choice wicketkeeper to Matthew Wade, the report added.

For much of his time on the outer, Haddin barely thought about cricket as Mia had treatment, the report further said.

Haddin or his wife Karina would sleep at Mia’s side in a Sydney hospital, while the other cared for their eldest child Zac and baby Hugo, according to the report.

Mia’s recovery coincided with Haddin’s revival as a Test cricketer as he won another Test cap in March this year and was then named vice-captain for the winter Ashes tour, the report mentioned.