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.
Highlighted Career
In the first-class arena, Green has demonstrated exceptional performance. He has accumulated five centuries in 21 matches, including an impressive 197, his personal best, achieved at the beginning of the season against New South Wales. Recently, he faced the Indians last week, showing a batting average of 55.04. A match against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019 revealed his potential with the bat, scoring 87 and 121 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 with 33 wickets, including 5 for 24 in his first-class debut against Tasmania, a team against which he also achieved his best mark of 6 for 30 in 2018.
Although his career in the white-ball format isn’t that prominent, he debuted in ODIs a couple of weeks ago, but has only played in nine matches in both List A and T20. It’s with the red (and pink) ball where he’s really generating excitement.
Great Expectations
Greg Chappell has described him as “the best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. In June, Chappell included him in the number 6 position of the test team in a scenario where Australia would play both tests and T20Is on the same day.
“For me, Cameron Green is the next Australian cricket superstar,” Chappell stated. “He’s 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 to bat 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
Recent scare due to injury
A worrying moment occurred when Green was hit on the head by a drive from Jasprit Bumrah at the SCG. He had to leave the field and was substituted, undergoing scans that ruled out any fracture. Fortunately, the blow did not cause major damage and it seems he will be able to comply with Cricket Australia’s protocols to debut.
The dream off-roader?
It could be, but with caution. This has nothing to do with his talent, but with the restrictions on his release due to a stress fracture in his back that he suffered last year. He has been working on his technique with WA’s bowling coach, Matt Mason, and 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, including two in the second innings against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval and an excellent ball to dismiss Shubman Gill before his injury at the SCG.
Tim Paine suggested that bowling restrictions could be relaxed. “I think he’ll bowl a little bit 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.”
Unexpected Debut?
In a way, yes. A few weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that he would be part of the XI at the start of the series, despite having been included in the extended squad. The original strategy was for Australia to maintain its traditional balance of six batsmen, a wicketkeeper, and four bowlers. However, the recent injuries to Warner and Pucovksi have altered the plans, leading Australia to reconfigure the batting order (at least for one test) and creating an opportunity at the number 6 position. This doesn’t mean that Green doesn’t deserve it. Based on his current form, it could easily be argued that he is among Australia’s top six batsmen, with Justin Langer and national selector Trevor Hohns stating that he is worthy of selection based on his batting alone.
