The night before his wedding, Sydney Thunder captain Chris Green received the phone call he’d been praying for his entire career.
The uncapped spinner was asked how quickly he could get to the subcontinent for Australia’s T20 series against India, replacing World Cup champion Adam Zampa in the national squad.
“It went along the lines of, ‘Look, we’re not going to ruin your wedding, but we’d love you to get on a flight Monday morning and come to India’,” Green laughed, speaking to reporters on the eve of the Big Bash League.
“I was already on a high for the wedding, excited for the next day, a little nervous. That just added to the experience, so it was really special.”
Green and his wife Bella discussed the possibility of postponing the wedding, but thankfully the national call-up didn’t impact “the best day of his life”.
“I saw the first game was on the day of my wedding, and we had a discussion on whether it would affect anything,” Green continued.
“She knew playing for Australia was something I had always worked towards, but at the same time we had planned our wedding a long time in advance.
“Thankfully I didn’t have to pose the question, ‘Are we getting married or am I going to India?’ I got to do both.
“That was the best day of my life, getting married. It’s the most special day, and I’m so glad we were able to get it in.”
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Green joined the national T20 squad in India ahead of the fourth T20, making his international debut in Raipur, where we went wicketless and scored two not out during the unsuccessful run chase.
“Playing for Australia is something I’d always wanted to work towards, and it was still a surreal experience,” Green said.
“I was really grateful for my opportunity.
“It’s developed a hunger for so much more. That team’s been doing really well for a long period of time, coming off a World Cup win as well. They’re dominating white-ball cricket and I know I’m going to have to continue to work incredibly hard to try and get back there.
“I’m really proud of myself for getting there, but I’m really excited to hopefully continue to work hard to get back.”
Green, who has played five seasons in the Caribbean Premier League, has a wealth of experience in the West Indies, which will host next year’s T20 World Cup along with the USA, but he’s realistic about his chances of cracking into the Australian squad.
“It’s important not to look too far ahead,” Green said.
“My main focus now becomes performing for the Sydney Thunder to the best of my ability and helping us go further and win this tournament, because I definitely believe we’ve got the team to do that.
“Conditions suit spin (in the West Indies), and it’s one of the places that I love bowling in because it’s conducive to spin, rather than here at times.
“Should the call come, amazing, but my main focus is performing for the Sydney Thunder.”
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The Thunder, who won their lone BBL title in 2016, have qualified for the knockouts in four consecutive seasons without reaching the final, but Green hopes the men in line green can go “one step further” this summer.
“We’ve fallen short in finals in previous years,” said Green, who has taken 66 wickets at 29.56 for the Sydney-based club.
“Yes, we’ve ticked that box of qualifying in most years, but we haven’t quite made it to the grand final to give ourselves an opportunity to win it.”
Although he enjoyed the unexpected holiday to the subcontinent, Green and his wife, who also travelled to India last week, will enjoy a proper honeymoon next year.
“India was the mini-moon,” he laughed.
“It was her first time to India, I hadn’t been for ten years. My IPL was in a Covid bubble in the UAE, so I got to experience the madness that is playing cricket in India in front of some really cool crowds.
“The mini-moon went really well.”
The Thunder get their BBL campaign underway on Tuesday, facing the Brisbane Heat at Canberra’s Manuka Oval at 7.15pm AEDT.
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