Cameron Green: The New Promise of Australian Cricket Ready for Debut
The young all-rounder from Western Australia, Cameron Green, 21, is about to make his debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His first appearance is one of the most anticipated in recent times. Here are some details about him.
Career So Far
In first-class cricket, Green has demonstrated exceptional performance. He has accumulated five centuries in 21 matches, including a career-high of 197 runs at the start of this season against New South Wales. His batting average is 55.04. A match against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019, demonstrated his ability with the bat, scoring 87 and 121 runs not out, batting at positions 8 and 9. That was also the last match in which he bowled for a year. With the ball, he averages 21.72 runs for his 33 wickets, including 5 for 24 in his first-class debut against Tasmania, against whom he also took his best figures of 6 for 30 in 2018. His career in the white-ball format does not stand out as much, although he debuted in ODIs a couple of weeks ago, but that’s only in a handful of matches: nine in both List A and T20. It is with the red (and pink) ball that he is generating excitement.
Great Expectations
You could say so. Greg Chappell has called him the “best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews and in June (when there was no cricket) a scenario was drawn up of Australia playing both Test and T20I on the same day. Chappell picked him at number 6 in the Test team immediately.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar,” Chappell said. “He’s a real prospect with the bat and ball, but I think his future is as a batsman who can offer some good innings. Cameron is a batsman with uncommon talent. At 6 feet 7 inches, he could become something very special. I would bat him at number 6 to start, but I think number 4 is his long-term position. The sooner he plays at this level, the sooner he will become the player he should be.”
Greg Chappell
The Recent Concern for Injuries
The situation seemed serious when he was hit on the head by a Jasprit Bumrah delivery at the SCG. He immediately left the field and was substituted from the match due to concussion, in addition to undergoing scans that ruled out any fractures. Fortunately, the blow did not cause major damage (unlike Will Pucovski, Green has no history of concussions) and it seems he will pass all Cricket Australia protocols to be able to debut.
The All-Terrain Vehicle Dreamed of by Australia?
Perhaps, but with caution. This has nothing to do with talent, but with the restrictions on his deliveries due to a stress fracture in his back that he suffered last year. He has worked on his action with WA bowling coach Matt Mason, and so far has been limited to four-over spells. This season he has not bowled more than eight overs in a day in match conditions. However, he has still shown the ability to take wickets: he claimed two in the second innings against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval and produced a beauty to dismiss Shubman Gill before his injury at the SCG.
Tim Paine also suggested that the bowling restrictions would be relaxed. “I think he’ll bowl a bit more than that, once you’re selected in a Test match, you’re ready to play. Having said that, we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs with the attack we have.”
Early Debut?
In a way, yes. In fact, just a few weeks ago it seemed unlikely that he would enter the XI at the start of the series despite having been named in the expanded squad. The preferred route was for Australia to maintain its traditional balance of six batsmen, a wicketkeeper and four bowlers. However, recently plans have been altered due to the injuries of Warner and Pucovksi, which has led Australia to reorganize the batting order (at least for one Test) and that has created the opening at number 6. That’s not to say that Green doesn’t deserve it. By current form, it could easily be said that he is among Australia’s top six batsmen, with Justin Langer and national selector Trevor Hohns saying he is worthy of selection just for his batting.
