The tourists fought back to be 6-187 when bad light ended day one in Durban, with an unbeaten 63-run stand between Matt Renshaw and Pat Cummins saving Australia's blushes.
Moved to bat at No.5 Renshaw looked the best of any Australian batter on Friday for his unbeaten 46, after Cummins (33no) joined him at 6-124 in the second session.
But the story of the day was the selection of Maddinson after he hadn't been in the squad 10 days ago, prior to Josh Inglis fracturing his finger.
The 34-year-old's effort to earn a recall almost a decade on from his last Test, and after beating testicular cancer last year, is one of the feel-good stories of sport.
But even before Friday his selection in the squad drew criticism from the likes of Matthew Hayden, given Maddinson hadn't played a first-class game in more than 18 months.
The decision to have Maddinson open the batting and move Renshaw to No.5 also raised eyebrows, given Renshaw was only brought in as opener one Test ago.
Renshaw insisted after play he had no issue moving down the order and was always prepared to be flexible.
Australia's current selectors have routinely got out-of-the-box calls right, and liked Maddinson for Durban with his flexibility and ability to play spin.
But he will need a far better second innings to justify the call, with Simon Katich also suggesting it was hard to argue it was "not disrespectful to (Sheffield) Shield cricket".
Thrust into the role on a pitch that offered plenty for the bowlers, Maddinson lasted 33 balls in Durban before he chopped on from Marco Jansen (2-35).
The left-hander was also lucky to survive his 15th ball when South Africa opted not to review an lbw appeal from Wiaan Mulder that would have been out on ball tracking.
His innings marked for the longest duck on record by an Australian Test opener, and third longest by any opener worldwide.
"Unfortunately for Maddo, it wasn't to be today, but we know that cricket's a weird old game sometimes,' Renshaw said.
"(The ball moving a bit) is just what opening batters have to deal with. I think we all know how hard it is to do that.
"Sometimes you feel like you're just in one of those games and he'll come out the other side of that. He's fine, it's just cricket."
Maddinson's selection next to Head at the top of the order also made for Australia's eighth first-choice opening combination since David Warner retired in January 2024.
The other statistic critics will point to is the fact this is the first time Australia have fielded a Test side without a single player under the age of 30.
Maddinson recalled opener wasn't alone with his issues on Friday.
Head clipped two balls off his pads to the boundary before being caught behind down legside off Mulder (2-21) for nine.
Marnus Labuschagne look in good touch before before being lbw to Mulder last ball before lunch on 37, adding to the frustration of three years without a Test century.
Steve Smith lifted spinner Keshav Maharaj for two sixes down the ground in the left-armer's first over, but then guided Jansen to gully on the third ball after lunch on 25.
And when Anrich Nortje (2-26) had Alex Carey edging to slip on 14 and Beau Webster (4) caught behind two balls later, Australia were in all sorts.
Renshaw and Cummins could well take Australia to a competitive total on a tricky wicket, but the concerns are already apparent around the batting.
Australia were bowled out by Bangladesh for scores of 198, 284 and 210 in August's drawn series at home, after an Ashes summer of highs and lows with the bat.
And while coach Andrew McDonald pointed out this week they were still functioning well enough for his team to be the No.1-ranked in the world, Friday was further proof that they remain vulnerable.
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