Hopeful Signs: Cameron Green Poised for Return in Bid for Test Team Reinstatement

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green has successfully bounced back from back surgery and is poised to make his return as he aims to secure a place in the World Test Championship final.

However, with Beau Webster’s smooth transition into the Test arena, Josh Inglis’ impressive century in Sri Lanka, and the ongoing selection dilemmas regarding both Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Konstas, it remains uncertain whether Green will be reinstated into the XI for the upcoming showdown at Lord’s.

Having not played cricket since his surgery last October, the 25-year-old is set to re-emerge as a batter in the UK County Championship in three weeks.

He intends to postpone his bowling return until he’s back in Australia ahead of the summer, where the Ashes will see Australia host England.

“The recovery from surgery has been fantastic. I think I was off my feet for about a fortnight, and since then I’ve focused on gym work for around four or five months. I’ve been running for the last two months and batting for the past month. It’s been quite seamless, so I’m really pleased I opted for it,” Green shared.

“It was all about my long-term goal of playing cricket as long as I possibly can, including bowling for as long as I can. That was the primary reason for the surgery.”

“I could have healed from the stress fracture over nine months, but I chose to go under the knife, and hopefully, that will be the end of it, which would be great.”

Green is scheduled to participate in five matches for Gloucestershire over April and May, lining up with a team captained by former Australian Test opener Cameron Bancroft.

Before his surgery, Green was batting at No. 4 in Test matches and has a commendable batting record for an all-rounder, having amassed 1377 runs, including two centuries, with an average of 36.23.

He is now eager to reclaim his spot to take on South Africa in the World Test Championship final, which is set to take place at Lord’s from June 11.

While Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Travis Head, and Alex Carey appear to be guaranteed spots in the top seven, the selection process led by George Bailey for the remaining positions is still unclear.

“We have an extremely successful top five, six, seven, which always makes it tough,” Green remarked.

“Ideally, that’s what you want for a Test team; you want players to rise to the occasion and claim their spots, and that has certainly happened.

“They’ve had another incredibly successful summer, and I was thrilled to watch it unfold.

“However, I’m always keen to get back into the team. So we’ll see how it all plays out.”