Last month, Australian coach Andrew McDonald reiterated the Test side’s incumbent top six would retain their place for November’s series opener against India – but with Cameron Green under an injury cloud, that now seems anything but a certainty.
The identity of Usman Khawaja’s opening partner was the only question mark hovering over Australia’s starting XI for the Test summer until Green’s back injury threw a spanner in the works last week. The 25-year-old complained of back soreness following the third ODI against England in Durham, ruled out of the remainder of the series after undergoing scans in London.
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The extent of the injury and a timeline for his return is yet to be determined, but Green’s setback has the potential to unsettle Australia’s Test side ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, which commences in late November.
The West Australian has an unfortunate history of back injuries; he was prohibited from bowling during the 2019/20 summer due to a stress fracture in his lower back, with his workload carefully managed over the following couple of years.
Back stress fractures can take several months to recover, meaning Green might be required to play as a specialist batter for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy pending the severity of the injury.
Green’s batting warrants selection on its own, as demonstrated by February’s match-winning 174 not out against New Zealand in Wellington, but Test captain Pat Cummins recently indicated he wanted more input from Green and Mitchell Marsh this summer.
Bowling contributions from the all-rounders would help the pace trio manage their workloads for the five-Test campaign against India, which could decide whether Australia features in next year’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
“It’s been huge having the all-rounders,” Cummins said in August.
“We have not had to use them as much as we thought we would, which is a great thing … but I suspect this summer might be a bit different. We will be drawing on Cam Green and Mitch Marsh a bit more.
“Cam basically started in Shield cricket as a bowler but has not had to bowl heaps in Test matches. Now he is a few years older, I think we will be leaning on him a bit more.
“It makes a big difference to have that fifth bowling option.”
Further emphasis would be placed on Marsh’s bowling if Cummins didn’t have access to Green’s seamers for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but the ODI series against England suggested the West Australian might not be up to the task.
Marsh did not bowl in a competitive match for five months after he sustained a hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League in April.
However, the 32-year-old bowled four overs during the fourth ODI at Lord’s after Green was withdrawn from the series, snaring the crucial wicket of England No. 3 Will Jacks. Worryingly, he cited soreness after the match and missed the series finale in Bristol.
If national selectors felt that neither Green nor Marsh could serve as the Test side’s fifth bowler this summer, it would open the door for fellow all-rounders Aaron Hardie or Beau Webster to earn a national call-up.
Hardie, who received a maiden national contract earlier this year, boasts a first-class batting average of 40.45 and a bowling average of 28.53, helping Western Australia win a trio of Sheffield Shield titles. The 25-year-old also impressed with bat and ball during the recent United Kingdom tour.
However, Tasmanian Webster produced a record-breaking season in the Sheffield Shield last summer, scoring 938 runs at 58.62 while taking 30 wickets at 29.30.
Meanwhile, if Green was unavailable for selection altogether, it could prompt a batting order reshuffle where incumbent opener Steve Smith slides back down to his preferred position at No. 4, which appears increasingly likely.
In such a scenario, former Test openers Cameron Bancroft, Matthew Renshaw and Marcus Harris could be fighting for a vacancy at the top order the order alongside Usman Khawaja, putting their performances in the Sheffield Shield under the spotlight over the coming weeks.
Having been the most consistent Sheffield Shield batter over the past 24 months, Bancroft is the leading candidate to earn a recall should a specialist opener be required, but Renshaw is the incumbent reserve batter having travelled to New Zealand with the Test squad earlier this year. Meanwhile, Harris also spent time in the Test squad last year, but fell down the pecking order following a lean summer with Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
There are still more than seven weeks until the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener at Perth Stadium, leaving plenty of time for national selectors to ponder their options while keeping a watchful eye on the upcoming four Sheffield Shield rounds, two Australia A matches against India A and the white-ball series against Pakistan.
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