It has definitely been weird start to the summer: Cameron Green reflects on his 'weird' Test summer
Dec 22, 2022
Melbourne [Australia], December 22 : All-rounder Cameron Green claimed that this year's summer had been "weird" so far on a personal level because he hasn't felt needed in Test cricket for Australia recently.
The 23-year-old Green has drawn much attention ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction, but his apparent skills with the bat and ball haven't been in high demand lately.
Playing at No. 6 Green rarely had an opportunity to play in the middle as Australia's top order dominated West Indies. In his first home Test in Perth, he chose not to bat, and in Adelaide, when declarations were pending, he only managed to make 9 and 5.
Green played fluidly in the first innings for a run-a-ball 18 to temporarily stop South Africa's quicks on a Gabba surface that bowlers controlled, then faced only three deliveries as Australia struggled to the finish line in the chase.
"It's definitely been a weird start to the summer for me not having to do too much. Being an all-rounder you're the guy to help out when the team needs. At the moment it feels like I'm not really needed. It's probably a sign of how well the team is playing. We've been winning games of cricket and that's what you want," ESPNcricinfo quoted Green as saying.
Green, however, is still confident that, if necessary, he can make a difference in the crucial Boxing Day Test against South Africa.
"All you can look at is how you are training and I feel in a pretty good space. I'm hitting the ball well. If you can't get much game time that's the only way you can tell how you are going. I feel pretty good in the nets," he said.
Green didn't bat for very long on the much-discussed Gabba surface, which Richie Richardson, the match referee, declared "below average," but he fronted a devastating short bouncer from tearaway Anrich Nortje that went over his head to the boundary for byes to end the game.
"He [Nortje] has shown what he can bring to the team...that raw pace. You don't get to face it too much, facing 150 [kph]. I think most of the batters are happy they got to face that. If we can withstand that, and we know we can, it gives us a little insight into how to face him at the MCG," Green said.
Australia won the Test match by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series, but the pitch at the Gabba came severely under fire. A green top, the contest between the two sides was over under two days, with 34 wickets falling in this duration.
