The 21-year-old all-rounder, Cameron Green, from Western Australia, is ready to debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His expected first appearance has generated great anticipation in the sports world.
Highlighted Career
In the realm of first-class cricket, Green has demonstrated outstanding performance. He has accumulated five centuries in 21 matches, including an impressive 197, his personal best, achieved at the beginning of this season against New South Wales. His batting average stands at 55.04. A key encounter against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019, where he scored 87 and 121 not out, playing in positions 8 and 9, marked a turning point. This was also the last match in which he bowled for a year.
With the ball, his average is 21.72, having taken 33 wickets, including 5 for 24 in his first-class debut against Tasmania, a team against which he also recorded his personal best of 6 for 30 in 2018. Although his career in the white-ball format doesn’t stand out as much, he made his ODI debut a couple of weeks ago, but has only played a few matches: nine in List A and T20. It’s with the red (and pink) ball where he is causing a sensation.
High Expectations
Expectations are high. Greg Chappell has called him “the best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. In June, in a hypothetical scenario of Test and T20I matches on the same day, Chappell included him at number 6 in the Test team.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next superstar of Australian cricket. He is a real 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 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
Recent Injury Concern
A worrying moment was when he received a blow to the head from a Jasprit Bumrah delivery at the SCG. He had to leave the field and was substituted, in addition to undergoing tests that ruled out fractures. Fortunately, the blow did not cause major damage and it seems that he will be able to comply with Cricket Australia’s protocols for his debut.
The Dream Off-Roader?
It’s possible, but with caution. This has nothing to do with his talent, but with the restrictions on his release 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 match day.
However, he has shown his ability to take wickets: he took two in the second innings against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval and bowled a spectacular delivery to dismiss Shubman Gill before his injury at the SCG.
Tim Paine also suggested that the restrictions on bowling could be relaxed. “I think he’ll bowl a few more, once you’re selected for a test match, you’re ready to play. That said, we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs with the attack we have.”
An Early Debut?
In a way, yes. A few weeks ago it seemed unlikely that he would be part of the starting eleven at the beginning of the series, despite having been included in the extended squad. The usual strategy was for Australia to maintain its traditional balance of six batsmen, a wicket-keeper and four bowlers.
However, plans were disrupted by injuries to Warner and Pucovksi, leading Australia to reshuffle the batting order (at least for one test) and create an opportunity at number 6. This doesn’t mean Green doesn’t deserve it. Based on his current form, it could easily be said that he is among Australia’s top six batsmen, and both Justin Langer and national selector Trevor Hohns have stated that he deserves to be selected based on his batting alone.
