The young all-rounder from Western Australia, 21-year-old Cameron Green, is set to debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His appearance is one of the most anticipated in recent times. Here we tell you more about him.
How has your career been so far?
In first-class cricket, he has been outstanding. He has scored five centuries in 21 matches, including a top score of 197 runs earlier this season against New South Wales. His batting average is 55.04. A match against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019 demonstrated what he could achieve 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 achieved his best figures of 6 for 30 in 2018.
His career in the white-ball format isn’t as prominent, although he debuted in ODIs a couple of weeks ago. However, that’s in a handful of matches: nine in List A and T20. It’s with the red (and pink) ball that he’s exciting everyone at the moment.
Are there high expectations?
You could say so. Greg Chappell has called him “the best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. In June, Chappell selected him at number 6 in the test team.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar,” he said. “He’s a genuine prospect with the bat and ball, but I think his future is as a batsman who can offer some quality overs. 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
What about the recent injury?
It was a bad moment when he was hit on the head by a Jasprit Bumrah drive at the SCG. He immediately left the field and was substituted from the match with a concussion and also underwent scans that ruled out any fractures. Fortunately, the blow has not caused major damage (unlike Will Pucovski, Green has no history of concussion) and it seems he will pass all Cricket Australia protocols to be able to debut.
Is it the all-terrain vehicle that Australia has dreamed of?
Maybe, but with a bit of caution. This has nothing to do with talent, but he has been limited in his bowling loads 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 will be relaxed. “I think he’ll bowl a few more than that, once you’re selected in a Test match, you’re ready to play. That being said, we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs with the attack we have.”
Has their debut arrived sooner than expected?
In a way, yes. In fact, a few weeks ago it seemed unlikely that he would be part of the XI at the start of the series, despite having been named in the extended squad. The preferred route was for Australia to maintain its traditional balance of six batsmen, a wicket-keeper and four bowlers. However, recently plans have been altered due to injuries to Warner and Pucovksi, which has led Australia to reorganize the batting order (at least for one test) and that has created the opening in the number 6 position. That’s not to say that Green doesn’t deserve it. In his current form, it could easily be said that he is among Australia’s top six batsmen, and Justin Langer and national selector Trevor Hohns have said that he is worthy of selection just for his batting.
