Cameron Green: The New Promise of Australian Cricket Debuts in Adelaide
The 21-year-old Western Australia all-rounder, Cameron Green, is set to debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His arrival is one of the most anticipated in the cricket world in recent times. Below, we tell you more about him.
What has been your career path so far?
In first-class cricket, Green has shown exceptional performance. He has five centuries in 21 matches, including an impressive 197, his best score, earlier this season against New South Wales. Recently, he played against the Indians last week, showing a batting average of 55.04. A standout match was against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019, where he proved his worth with the bat, scoring 87 and 121 runs not out, batting 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 runs for his 33 wickets, including a 5/24 in his first-class debut against Tasmania, a team against which he also achieved his best score of 6/30 in 2018. Although his career in the white-ball format is not as outstanding, he made his ODI debut a couple of weeks ago, he has nine matches in both List A and T20. It is with the red (and pink) ball that he is generating great expectation.
Big Expectations?
You could say so. Greg Chappell has called him “the best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. In June, Chappell selected him directly in the number 6 position of the test team.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar. He is 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 exceptional 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 happened with the recent injury?
It was a worrying moment when he was hit on the head by a Jasprit Bumrah delivery at the SCG. He immediately left the field and was substituted due to concussion, in addition to undergoing scans that ruled out any fractures. Fortunately, the blow did not cause major damage and it seems that he will be able to comply with all Cricket Australia protocols to debut.
Is he the all-rounder Australia has dreamed of?
Possibly, but with caution. This has nothing to do with his talent, but with the restrictions on his deliveries due to a stress fracture in his back that he suffered last year. He has been working 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 shown his ability to take wickets: he took two in the second innings against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval and delivered a spectacular delivery to dismiss Shubman Gill before his injury at the SCG.
Tim Paine also suggested that the bowling restrictions will be eased. “I think he’ll bowl a few more, once you’re selected in 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.”
Did your debut come sooner than expected?
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 named in the extended squad. The plan was for Australia to maintain its traditional balance of six batsmen, a wicketkeeper, and four bowlers. However, the plans were recently altered due to injuries to Warner and Pucovksi, which led Australia to reorganize the batting order (at least for one test) and that has created the opening in the number 6 position. This does not mean that Green does not deserve it. Based on 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 being selected just for his batting.
