Cameron Green: The New Promise of Australian Cricket Ready for Debut
Western Australia’s young all-rounder, Cameron Green, just 21 years old, is about to make his debut with Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His first appearance is one of the most anticipated in recent times, and here we tell you a little about him.Highlighted Career
In first-class cricket, Green has demonstrated outstanding performance. He has five centuries in 21 matches, including a maximum of 197 runs at the start of the 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 potential with the bat, scoring 87 and 121 runs not out, batting in positions 8 and 9. This 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 mark of 6 for 30 in 2018. Although his career in white-ball formats does not 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 is with the red (and pink) ball where he is generating great expectation.Great Expectations
Greg Chappell has called him “the best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. In June, Chappell included him at number 6 in the Test team in a hypothetical scenario of Australia playing both Tests and T20Is on the same day.“For me, Cameron Green is the next superstar of Australian cricket,” said Chappell. “He’s a real prospect with the bat and ball, but I think his future lies 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 Concern About the Injury
There was a worrying 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 for concussion, in addition to undergoing tests that ruled out any fracture. Fortunately, the blow did not cause major damage (unlike Will Pucovski, Green has no history of concussions) and it seems that he will be able to comply with all Cricket Australia protocols to debut.The Dream Off-Roader?
Perhaps, but with caution. This has nothing to do with talent, but with the release restrictions due to a stress fracture in the back 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 shown his 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 will be eased. “I think he’ll bowl a little bit more than that, once you’re selected in a Test match you’re ready to go. That said, we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs with the attack we’ve got.”Did your debut come sooner than expected?
In a way, yes. In fact, just 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 expanded squad. The preferred route was for Australia to maintain its traditional balance of six batsmen, a wicketkeeper and four bowlers. However, recently, 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 opening at number 6. That’s 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 selection just for his batting.
