Cameron Green: The New Promise of Australian Cricket Debuts in Adelaide
Western Australia’s young all-rounder, 21-year-old Cameron Green, is set to debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His much-anticipated debut has generated great excitement in the cricket world.
Professional Career
Green’s first-class cricket career has been outstanding. He has scored five centuries in 21 matches, including a top score of 197 runs at the start of this season against New South Wales. His batting average is 55.04. In a match against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019, he 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 has an average of 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. His career in the white-ball format is not as prominent, although he debuted in ODIs a couple of weeks ago, but has only played a few matches: nine in List A and T20. It is with the red (and pink) ball that he is generating excitement.
Great Expectations
Greg Chappell has called him “the best since Ricky Ponting”.
For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar. 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 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
A worrying moment was 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 a 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 comply with all Cricket Australia protocols to be able to debut.
The Dream Off-Roader?
With caution, yes. This has nothing to do with his talent, but he has had restrictions on his releases 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 the ability to take wickets: he claimed two in the second innings against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval and produced a great play 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 few more than that, 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.”
An Early Debut?
In a way, yes. A few weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that he would be part of the starting team at the beginning 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 wicket-keeper, and four bowlers. However, 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 opportunity in the number 6 position. 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, and Justin Langer and national selector Trevor Hohns have said that he is worthy of being selected just for his batting.
