Cameron Green: The new promise of Australian cricket debuts in Adelaide
The 21-year-old all-rounder, Cameron Green, from Western Australia, is ready to make his debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His arrival generates great expectation.
A Promising Trajectory
In first-class cricket, Green has demonstrated exceptional performance. He has accumulated five centuries in 21 matches, including an impressive 197, his best score, at the beginning of this season against New South Wales.
His batting average is 55.04. He excelled in a match against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019, where he scored 87 and 121 runs not out, playing in positions 8 and 9. That was also the last match in which he bowled for a year.
With the ball, he averages 21.72 with 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. Although his career in the white-ball format is not as remarkable, he made his ODI debut a couple of weeks ago, but has only played a few matches.
It is with the red (and pink) ball that is generating great enthusiasm.
Great Expectations
Greg Chappell has called him “the best since Ricky Ponting.” Chappell selected him at number 6 in the Test team immediately.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar. He is a real promise 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 exceptional talent. At 6 feet 7 inches, he could become something very special. I would put him to bat 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 injury
It was a concerning moment when Green was hit on the head by a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah at the SCG. He had to leave the field and was substituted due to concussion, in addition to undergoing tests that ruled out any fractures. Fortunately, the blow did not cause major damage and it seems he will be able to comply with Cricket Australia’s protocols for his debut.
The all-terrain vehicle that Australia has dreamed of?
Possibly, but with caution. This has nothing to do with his talent, but with the restrictions on his bowling 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 has so far 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 shown his 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 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’ll be ready to play. That being said, we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs with the attack we have.”
An unexpected debut?
In a way, yes. A few weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that he would be part of the XI at the start of the series, despite having been included in the extended squad. The preferred option was for Australia to maintain its traditional balance of six batsmen, a wicket-keeper and four bowlers. However, plans were altered by the injuries of Warner and Pucovksi, which led Australia to reorganize the batting order (at least for one test) and that has created the opportunity at number 6. This is not to say that Green doesn’t deserve it. Based on his current form, it could easily be said that he is among Australia’s top six batsmen, with Justin Langer and national selector Trevor Hohns stating that he is worthy of selection based on his batting alone.
