Australian allrounder Cameron Green remains uncertain about retaining the No. 3 batting position in the upcoming Ashes series, but confirmed that his long-awaited bowling return will most likely happen in Sheffield Shield cricket rather than the white-ball series against India.
The 26-year-old, who underwent back surgery in October last year, has been batting at No. 3 in Australia’s last four Tests, including the World Test Championship final and the three-match series in the West Indies. Although his numbers at the position have been modest, his gritty knocks of 46 and 42 in Kingston stood out in a low-scoring contest, earning him praise within the Australian camp.
Green Unsure About No. 3 Role
Speaking ahead of the second ODI against South Africa in Mackay on Thursday, August 21, Green admitted that his spot in the top order is not guaranteed for the Ashes opener in Perth this November.
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝑵𝒐. 3, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓,” 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑬𝑺𝑷𝑵𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐.
If he shifts down the order, it could reshuffle Australia’s top six. With Steven Smith and Travis Head fixed at No. 4 and No. 5, Beau Webster’s role at No. 6 might come under review if Green resumes his bowling duties. The opening combination also remains a talking point, with Usman Khawaja likely to open, while Sam Konstas faces competition from Jake Weatherald in Ashes.
Prioritising Red-Ball Preparation
Green has confirmed that his bowling workload will be managed through Sheffield Shield matches, with Western Australia set to play three games in October ahead of the Ashes.
“𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑮𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆,” 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
The Western Australia schedule includes matches against New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia in October. While there is also a Shield fixture on November 11, Green is unlikely to play so close to the Ashes start on November 21.
Caribbean Tour and ODI Struggles
Reflecting on the recent West Indies tour, Green suggested that poor batting conditions made it hard to evaluate performances.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 — 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅.
He also admitted that the Australian side needs to bounce back after struggling in the first ODI against South Africa, where left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj caused plenty of trouble.
“𝑶𝒃𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚, 𝑴𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒋 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚. 𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒏𝒆-𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅,” 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒅.
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