Cameron Green: The New Promise of Australian Cricket Ready for Debut
The young all-rounder from Western Australia, 21-year-old Cameron Green, is about to make his debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His arrival is one of the most anticipated in recent times, and here we tell you a little about him.
Professional Career
In the realm of first-class cricket, Green has demonstrated outstanding performance. He has five centuries in 21 matches, including a career-high of 197 runs at the start of this season against New South Wales. His batting average is 55.04. In November 2019, in a match against Queensland at the Gabba, he demonstrated his ability 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 5 for 24 in his first-class debut against Tasmania, against whom he also obtained his career-best of 6 for 30 in 2018. His career in white-ball cricket does not stand out as much, although he debuted in ODIs a couple of weeks ago, but this is in a handful of matches: nine in List A and T20. It is with the red (and pink) ball that he is exciting everyone at the moment.
Great Expectations
It can be said that yes. Greg Chappell has called him the “best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. Chappell selected him in the number 6 position in the test team.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar,” he said. “He’s a real prospect with the bat and ball, but I think his future is as a batsman who can offer some quality innings. Cameron is a batsman with uncommon 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
Concern about the Recent Injury
There was a worrying moment when Green was hit on the head by a bouncer from Jasprit Bumrah at the SCG. He immediately left the field and was replaced in the match due to concussion. Fortunately, the blow did not cause major damage, and it seems he will be able to comply with all Cricket Australia protocols to be able to debut.
The All-Terrain Vehicle Dreamed of by Australia?
Perhaps, but with caution. This has nothing to do with talent, but he has had restricted bowling loads 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 day in match conditions. However, he has still shown the ability to pick up 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 also suggested that the bowling restrictions will be eased. “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.”
Did His 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 injuries to 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. In 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 saying that he is worthy of being selected just for his batting.
