Green Eyes Higher Scores After Gritty Half-Century at Number 3

Cameron Green, the new No. 3 for the Australian Test team, expressed his satisfaction with his resilient innings during the second innings of the Grenada Test against the West Indies on Saturday. Green's 52 runs, achieved over 123 deliveries, marked his first half-century in the one-down position. He also forged a significant 93-run partnership with Steve Smith, who celebrated his return to the team with a fluent 71.

Cameron Green's determined batting display in Grenada © AFP

"You always need an innings here and there just to get you going, and hopefully today was one of those," Green commented after play concluded. He emphasized the value of time spent in the middle, stating, "If anything, it's good to get some time out there; there's a lot of good things I get out of just spending time in the middle. My balls faced has been trending up; the runs haven't been there, but there's certainly little positives I can take out of it."

Following back surgery, Green missed the entire 2024-25 home season but made a comeback through a County stint with Gloucestershire. During his time there, he scored three centuries in five County games, including one in his first innings back. He was selected as the No. 3 batter for the WTC final, with Marnus Labuschagne promoted to open alongside Usman Khawaja. Subsequent to that, Labuschagne lost his Test spot, and Smith was sidelined for the first Test against West Indies due to a hand injury. Green's initial performances at No. 3 were unremarkable until his patient and gritty 52 in the second Test, which helped Australia maintain their lead. His previous scores were 4, 0, 3, 15, and 26.

Reflecting on his new batting position, Green said, "If you ask most of the guys in our changeroom, they've all batted number three their whole junior career and no different with me. I've batted number four for WA (and Australia), being one spot up is no different."

He acknowledged the challenging conditions of the pitch, stating, "I don't think I ever really felt comfortable out there (on that pitch) - certainly (Friday) night was tricky, and just with the new ball today (Saturday), I had to start again. You could probably ask a different question to Steve, he was batting on a different wicket. He's clearly a class above - that's a tough wicket, so to play as well as he did was incredible."

Due to the injury layoff before the WTC final, Green is currently only participating as a batter and not providing his full all-rounder capabilities.

"To be able to sneak into (the team) while still not bowling, I'm incredibly grateful for that, and hopefully my output can be a little better than it has been. But today was a nice sign that things are trending well," he added, indicating his potential return to bowling.

He further explained, "I've certainly had enough rest, so my back is not an issue, it's more getting load ups now. It'll be a steady progression, and hopefully around a couple of the Shield games (I'll be bowling), potentially one-dayers against India (in October), but those are all pretty far away, so we'll wait and see."