Cameron Green, the uncapped all-rounder is tailor-made for Test cricket and will make his debut in all probability in the pink ball Test match against India in Adelaide, Australian captain Tim Paine announced on Wednesday.
The much-awaited four-match Test series between the two cricket heavyweights; India and Australia will commence with the day/night match at Adelaide from 17th December onwards.
Cameron Green Who Understands Cricket Well And Has Smart Brain To Debut In Pink Ball 1st Test After Training Well: Tim Paine
The right-handed batsman and right arm seam-bowling all-rounder scored an impressive hundred in the first warm-up game against India A and was drafted into the Test squad after exemplary performances in the domestic circuit. He got concussed in the second practice game after a straight drive from Jasprit Bumrah hit him on the head, but has recovered and Tim Paine indicated that the baggy green cap is waiting for him.
“He trained well. If all things go well, Cam Green will be making his Test debut tomorrow. Great news for him. Great news for us and great news for all Australian cricket fans,” Paine said at the virtual media conference ahead of the series-opener.
Tim Paine, who batted alongside all-round prospect Cameron Green in the warm-up game and has also seen him score a lot of runs in Sheffield Shield domestic circuit, is confident that he is a young star in making and has a bright future ahead of him.
“He is really impressive for a guy of his age and understands his game pretty well. He has smart cricket brain and is calm under pressure. He is made for Test cricket,” Paine complimented the 21-year-old West Australian’s skills.
21-year-old all-rounder Cameron Green has played only 1 ODI where he scored 21 and didn’t pick a wicket against India at Canberra on 2nd December. He played both warm-up games where he scored an unbeaten 125 in 1st innings in 1st game and picked 3 wickets in total before being concussed.
Cameron Green Will Bowl Not Many Overs And Won’t Open: Tim Paine
The skipper believes that if Cameron Green can bowl a few overs besides batting consistently with his seam-up stuff, it will help in the longevity of Australian pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, all of whom feature in test series and were rested in most of the limited-overs matches.
“He (Green) will bowl but we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs. We see him as nice change up, who takes about 12-14 overs in an innings from our key fast bowlers.
“Having him around will help having Starc, Cummins and Halewood around for a little longer. He is going to be a huge asset in that sense,” the skipper observed.
Cameron Green has opened a few times in Sheffield Shield cricket but skipper Tim Paine completely ruled out the option of having the youngster open even as there are slots available at the top order due to David Warner’s absence and Joe Burns’ poor form. David Warner is injured and will miss 1st test while Joe Burns failed to reach double-digit scores in both practice games.
“No we will be using Greeny (nickname) in that all-rounder’s slot. We will use him in position that gives him best chance to succeed. We can’t bring him in a Pink Ball Test match and ask ‘mate can you open’.”
Cameron Green has played 21 first-class matches where he averages 55.04 with bat and 21.72 with the ball. He amassed 1321 runs and picked 33 wickets. In Sheffield Shield, he scored an unbeaten 158 against Tasmania and 197 against New South Wales playing for West Australia recently.