Former Test cricketer Gavin Robertson said Brad Haddin appeared as though he would be the first player to challenge Cricket Australia's admirable "family first" policy which has been interpreted by some to mean players would not be penalised for pulling out of the national team because of a family drama.

At a time when his form was being scrutinised during his performance in the opening Test of the Ashes series, Haddin ruled himself out of selection for the Lord's Test for what was described as a "personal matter" .

While it has not been confirmed, it was believed the reason Haddin pulled out of the second Test was related to his daughter Mia who, in 2012, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that attacks children aged five years or younger.

While Haddin was given permission to step down, his NSW teammate and friend, Peter Nevill, made his Test debut and he took seven catches and helped Steve Smith to his first double century with 45 runs.

In the tour match against Derbyshire, Nevill kept wicket while Haddin fielded at point and in the outfield. He batted at No.6, two positions higher than his mentor.

Cricket Australia's coach Darren Lehmann has been roundly praised in the past for encouraging his players to realise that their families ought to be first and foremost. However, Robertson said that edict was made at a time when Australia was not in a position where it was fighting for a series victory.

"This really is the first real challenge to the team's 'family first' policy," said the former Test spin bowler ahead of the team's selection for the third Test, which starts at Edgbaston on Wednesday. "The family first theory comes under challenge when a player's form may not be what it has been and a series is on the line."

Haddin returned to Sydney from the tour of the West Indies in 2012 to be with his wife Karina when Mia was diagnosed with the illness and he resumed his place in the team that had been filled by Matthew Wade. After a summer in which he regularly saved the Australians with his batting he was allowed, at Lehmann's behest, to leave for the 2014 tour of South Africa to tend to another important family matter.

"Darren Lehmann encourages family first," Haddin said in February, 2014. "Darren said, 'You're flying out only after you take your son for his first day at school'. He sees cricket as a game, something that is only there for a short term of your life and [that thinking] takes all of the anxiety out of the room."

It is understood Haddin, one of cricket's most respected players and toughest competitors, would accept whatever the selectors decided with dignity and he would continue to offer Nevill his wholehearted support.

In 2014 he made it clear to Fairfax Media that during Mia's health battle that cricket – or the prospect of losing his place in the national team – was the last thing on his mind.

"'I didn't think about cricket, I didn't think about coming back to the game ... it was making sure Mia had the best possible chance of surviving and that our other kids could live as normal a life with everything that was going on," he said.