Source :- THE AGE NEWS
As much as Cameron Green’s second century in five matches for Gloucestershire strengthened his case for an instant recall for the world Test championship final after back surgery, it was the manner of his doing so that will hearten the national selectors.
After a comeback hundred against Kent in mid-April, Green was put on his back by cramping as he tried to celebrate the milestone, and retired hurt. He gingerly followed up that opening innings with a quartet of low scores.
Australian batsman Cameron Green raises a century for Gloucestershire against Kent.Credit: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club via X
But for the return game against Kent at Bristol, Green’s pull shot to reach three figures in the final over of the day was followed by a statuesque celebration as he stood tall, bat and helmet aloft, to acknowledge teammates and a crowd that chanted his name. Unbeaten on 102 at stumps, he looked good for more time in the middle
“It was amazing. I definitely wanted a good score in front of the fans,” Green said afterwards. “They’ve come out in force the two games I’ve been here, and I’d never really experienced chanting of my name before, so that was awesome to experience. A really cool moment.
“I feel sorry in a way, doing it against the same opposition. But you take them when they come. We played a couple of shots, the crowd got up, and you felt like you were really on top of them.”
An apology for making a hundred against the same opposition marks Green as still the gentlest of giants, but his upward trend has demonstrated that one of the truisms of the 25-year-old’s career thus far is also still in evidence.
When Green has struggled at Test level it has often been to do with switching formats quickly. In 2023 on his last visit to England, Green had made his first Test hundred in India, but followed that with several months at the Indian Premier League, and returned a paltry 134 runs at 19.14 in four matches on the subsequent Test championship and Ashes tour.
Green has also battled a common rite of passage for young players – that of shuffling between different batting positions before gaining a settled berth. That has been most evident in white-ball cricket for Australia, where he has batted everywhere from opening to number eight across ODIs and T20 games so far.
By contrast, a block of red-ball cricket has been proven to help get Green into position to make big runs in Tests: most famously a match and series-winning century against New Zealand in Wellington last year.
This time around, Green’s run-making in England will give the selectors confidence about picking him for the WTC against South Africa, as they assess their other options for the final at Lord’s. Green won’t be available to bowl again until the Australian season.
“Fantastic to see him get some runs, but just also his ability to back up innings to innings and match to match,” selection chair George Bailey said of Green when naming the Test squad.
“I think he pulled up pretty sore after his first innings, having not played for a little while.
“So he’ll get better and better as he does that. We know he’s a quality player, we know he’s a proven performer also, so whether and how many runs he gets are not necessarily as much of a concern as him getting some match play under his belt.”
Marnus Labuschagne made a duck in his first innings for Glamorgan, nicking off to Northamptonshire’s Harry Conway, and may not get another hit in that match. Beau Webster, meanwhile, has continued making handy contributions for Warwickshire with both bat and ball.
The IPL’s return was a damp one overnight, as a washout in Bengaluru eliminated defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. There was more cricket played in Pakistan, where David Warner’s 86 off 50 balls helped Karachi Kings to secure their spot in the PSL finals.
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