Cameron Green highly likely to miss Border-Gavaskar Trophy as back surgery looks big possibility
Oct 10, 2024
Melbourne [Australia], October 10 : Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is highly likely to miss the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India from November this year as a back surgery looks a big possibility for the youngster after latest injury issue during the white-ball series against England.
Surgery is among the legitimate option for Green among various other recovery plans which are being worked for him by Cricket Australia's medical and high performance team following the injury during UK tour for a white-ball series against Scotland and England, as per ESPNCricinfo.
Green flew home from UK after complaining of back soreness after the third ODI against England at Chester-Le-Street. Thought he had scans in England and in Australia, CA's medical team are taking their time to assess how to move forward with regards to his injury, with no formal plans issued.
The 25-year-old all-rounder has had four stress fractures but none since 2019. He has been managed really well in his first four years of international cricket. If he opts to go under the knife, it would rule him out for the entire Test summer. However, taking a non-surgical route means he could still play some cricket in the Test summer, though as a specialist batter. Also, the time frame for his availability is not clear yet.
His absence from the series will be a huge jolt for Australia, as they look forward to a possible batting re-shuffle after Steve Smith's underwhelming start to a new career era as an opener. An indication of his batting position will come when he plays Sheffield Shield cricket for New South Wales on Sunday against Victoria at Sydney.
In four Tests and eight innings as an opener, Smith has been underwhelming, scoring just 171 runs at an average of 28.50, with one half-century. His highest score as an opener is 91*. Green has been batting at number four slot and proved his effectiveness with a fine 174 against New Zealand this year.
If Green makes himself unavailable and Smith moves back to four, Australia could get a new Test opener from Shield cricket, with Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw in contention. They were all an option to take David Warner's position following his retirement, before Smith put up his hand to open.
Harris also made a fine start to his Shield season with a 143-run knock for Victoria against Tasmania. Also, Tasmania all-rounder Beau Webster made a century. Bancroft and Renshaw made low scores during their first innings of the match between Western Australia and Queensland.
