Cameron Green: The New Australian Cricket Star Ready to Debut
Western Australia’s young all-rounder, 21-year-old Cameron Green, is set to make his Australia debut at the Adelaide Oval. This is one of the most anticipated appearances in recent times. Here are some details about him.
How has your career been so far?
In first-class cricket, he has been outstanding. He has accumulated five centuries in 21 matches, including a best score of 197 earlier 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 potential 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 averages 21.72 runs for his 33 wickets.
His career in the white-ball format doesn’t stand out as much, although he debuted in ODIs a couple of weeks ago, but this is only from a handful of matches: nine in both List A and T20. It’s with the red (and pink) ball that he’s exciting everyone at the moment.
High expectations for him?
You could say so. Greg Chappell has called him the “best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. Chappell picked him at number 6 in the test team immediately.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar,” Chappell said. “He’s a genuine 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 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 about the recent injury?
It was a difficult moment when he was hit on the head by a Jasprit Bumrah bouncer at the SCG. He immediately left the field and was substituted from the match due to concussion and also underwent scans that ruled out any fractures. Fortunately, the blow has not caused significant damage and it seems that he will overcome all Cricket Australia protocols to be able to debut.
Is it the all-terrain vehicle that Australia has dreamed of?
Maybe, but with a bit of caution. This has nothing to do with talent, but he has been restricted in his bowling spells due to a stress fracture in his back that he suffered last year. He 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.
Tim Paine also suggested that the bowling restrictions will be loosened. “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.”
Has their debut arrived sooner than expected?
In a way, yes. In fact, 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 expanded squad. However, plans have been recently 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 opportunity in the number 6 position. This is 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, and both Justin Langer and national selector Trevor Hohns have said that he deserves to be selected just for his batting.
