Cameron Green, the 21-year-old all-rounder from Western Australia, is set to debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval. His debut is one of the most anticipated in recent times. Here are some details about him.
How has your career been so far?
In first-class cricket, he has excelled. He has scored five centuries in 21 matches, including a maximum of 197 runs earlier this season against New South Wales. His batting average is 55.04. He demonstrated his potential with the bat in a match against Queensland at the Gabba in November 2019, where he scored 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 achieved his best mark of 6 for 30 in 2018. His career in white-ball matches does not stand out as much, although he made his ODI debut a couple of weeks ago. However, that’s only from 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.
Are there high expectations?
You could say so. Greg Chappell has called him “the best since Ricky Ponting” in recent interviews. In June, Chappell selected him at number 6 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 overs. Cameron is a batsman with rare 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
What about the recent injury?
The moment was worrying 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, in addition to undergoing scans that ruled out any fractures. Fortunately, the blow has not caused major damage and it seems that he will pass 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. That has nothing to do with talent, but with the restrictions on the release 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 still shown the ability to take 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 relaxed. “I think he’ll bowl a few more than that, once you’re selected in a Test match, you’re ready. That said, we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs with the attack we have.”
Did your debut come sooner than expected?
In a way, yes. In fact, just a few weeks ago it seemed unlikely that he would enter the XI at the start of the series despite being 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 by 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 in the number 6 position. That is not to say that Green does not 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.
