Stoic Haddin sets the standard Standing tall: Brad Haddin, whose daughter Mia is receiving treatment for cancer. As Brad Haddin prepared to resume his Test career in Mohali on Thursday, his daughter Mia remained in Westmead Children's Hospital. Set against the tale of four Test players who either forgot or did not get around to completing a simple task to explain how they, and the team, could improve - and against a creeping culture of slackness in the Australian squad - Haddin's effort to get back to the Test team is a remarkable example of professionalism in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. In the year since Haddin returned from the West Indies, Mia, 2½, has endured extensive treatment. In that time, Haddin and his wife Karina have celebrated the birth of their third child, Hugo, and somehow found a way to keep life as normal as possible for their eldest son Zac, who has just started kindergarten. His century at Bankstown Oval in September was made after a night in hospital with Mia. He accepted Matthew Wade's selection for the home summer with good grace. But while many assumed generational change behind the stumps would spell the end of Haddin's international career, the 35-year-old did not. He had already decided that if he was going to continue playing cricket, he would do so with the same old-school commitment to routine and training. He is the second-highest NSW run-scorer in first-class cricket this summer, with 468 runs at 52. With an average of 42 in the domestic one-day competition, he is a leading contender for the Steve Waugh Medal, presented to the Blues' outstanding player each season. He also captained the Sydney Sixers to the Champions League title in South Africa. Filling in for Wade for three ODIs and a Twenty20 match, Haddin marked his international return with a blinding catch at the MCG and an important half-century in a losing team in Adelaide. When Wade sprained his ankle playing basketball, Haddin was the obvious replacement. "I don't think anyone, unless they have been in that situation, can understand exactly what is going on, but it's one hell of an effort," said Sixers coach Trevor Bayliss. Haddin has chosen to keep details of Mia's illness private. "He is not a bloke who would burden other players with what he has been through," Bayliss said. I don't think his teammates have seen any change in him or his professionalism. Bayliss said Haddin had never given up on adding to his 43 Tests. Haddin was in the air, on the way to India, when news broke that the "Mohali Four" had been banned from selection for the third Test. Insiders have observed he will be a good man to have in a dressing room that needs leaders. "He's good fun to be around, he's experienced and he's had success as a captain," Bayliss said. I'm sure he will be of benefit to the players over there, and for [Michael] Clarke as well. Several of Australia's idle tourists could learn from the way Haddin has managed his time. Those who know him say there is hardly a moment in his life when he is not either training, playing, at the hospital or with the other children. The selectors have already indicated Haddin is a likely Ashes tourist, alongside Wade. It's good to be back on this stage again and test myself out in the middle ... I've played over here before so I know what to expect.