Cliff Notes – Green happy to ‘just bat’ for now as No 3 role beckons
- Cameron Green is focusing solely on his batting as he prepares for a potential No. 3 role in the Australian Test team, following a successful stint with Gloucestershire where he scored three centuries.
- After undergoing back surgery, Green expressed relief at being able to concentrate on batting, noting that it has allowed him to feel more relaxed and prepared for the upcoming World Test Championship final against South Africa.
Green happy to ‘just bat’ for now as No.3 role beckons
Andrew McGlashanJun 9, 2025, 04:54 AM
CloseDeputy Editor Andrew arrived at ESPNcricinfo via Manchester and Cape Town, after finding the assistant editor at a weak moment as he watched England’s batting collapse in the Newlands Test. Andrew began his cricket writing as a freelance covering Lancashire during 2004 when they were relegated in the County Championship. In fact, they were top of the table when he began reporting on them but things went dramatically downhill. He likes to let people know that he is a supporter of county cricket, a fact his colleagues will testify to and bemoan in equal quantities.
Cameron Green is firmly focused on returning to being a full-fledged allrounder for Australia later this year, but for now he is seeing the benefits on being able to focus purely on his batting as he prepares to resume his Test career in what appears likely to be a new role.
Green, who underwent back surgery in October which ruled him out of the entire home season, is entering the World Test Championship final against South Africa on the back of three centuries for Gloucestershire and it’s not the first time in his career that he has seen the results of being forced to park the other side of his game.
“The silver lining to having four back injuries is I’ve got four chances only to be a batter,” he said. “I felt like my game’s always been good around those periods. I’m always going to keep bowling, but you’re so much more relaxed [with] half a game to worry about. When you’re bowling and batting, there’s so much more you have to do bowling wise to keep yourself fit and ready to play. It does take away from batting. So, certainly, just batting is nice.”
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Ultimately it was not a tough decision for Green to opt for surgery even though the stress fracture could have naturally healed over nine months to a year. He leaned on the experience of others who had undergone the procedure, notably Ben Dwarshuis and Western Australia team-mate Jason Behrendorff, while he also received support from Jasprit Bumrah who messaged the night before the operation.
“He was in the middle of a Test match in India,” Green said. “Just a few things like that are really special and makes you feel a lot better about it. To get someone like him to reach out and then to watch him during the summer, to see how good he is obviously post-surgery, filled me with a lot of confidence.”
Advancements in the procedure meant Green was up and about after just two weeks and admitted the coaches had to slow him down in his rehab on occasions. He would have been available to play the Sheffield Shield final in late March had WA qualified.
As it’s transpired, the stint at Gloucestershire, funded by a club member who was revealed by News Corp to be Chris Coley, a former English teacher involved in the racehorse industry, has left Green feeling better prepared than ever to tackle conditions in a country where his previous four Tests in 2023 brought 134 runs at 19.14. Those returns saw him dropped at the end of the Ashes, a tour that also had the challenge of a quick transition from the IPL.
“It’s certainly the best I’ve felt batting in England,” Green said. “To get the chance to come over and play some country cricket is massively valuable. So it’s the most prepared I’ve been. I think it’s learning what the different conditions can bring … speaking to a few county guys who’ve been here for years, different ways to go about it. Certain cliches like defending straight and scoring square. It’s normally the complete opposite to Australia, where you’re looking to just hit straight down the ground.”
When Green last played Test cricket he slotted in at No. 4 while Steve Smith briefly opened – something Green remains grateful for him doing – and he made a superb 174 not out in Wellington that, though not his maiden Test century, felt like something of a breakthrough for the way he dominated in tricky batting conditions.
Now, however, with Smith back at No. 4, Green will need to fit in somewhere else. Barring an unlikely call to go without Beau Webster at No. 6 as the allrounder, that appears to be No. 3. It’s somewhere Green has only batted once in his first-class career but he is unfazed by the prospect.
“You grow up through your whole career, you speak to anyone here, they’ve definitely batted in the top three or four throughout their whole junior career,” he said. “I was no different, batting three until you get to first-class cricket. Absolutely no issues batting at three when you’ve done it your whole life.”
Cameron Green produced a vital century Gloucestershire County cricket Club
Beau Casson, the former Australia left-arm wristspinner who has worked closely with Green as a batting coach for Western Australia, believes he can pick up where he left off before the back injury.
“He’s versatile. He can bat anywhere from one to six,” Casson told ESPNcricinfo. “He always has one or two things he’s trying to work on to get better. Whether it’s a shot, whether it’s a particular bowler he’s trying to face. We know there’s going to be ups and downs in form. I just don’t think the holes will be very big for Cameron because of his understanding [of his game].
“He’s got a lovely technique, and I think he’s starting to show how he can express himself and take the game on, and that was his evolution. I know [head coach] Andrew McDonald and [batting coach] Michael Di Venuto have done a great job with him. I think if he keeps getting those chances to showcase that in the middle he can be a very powerful player for Australia.”
When Green is back bowling that will put pressure on Webster’s place in the side at least until another middle-order vacancy becomes available, most likely whenever Smith calls it a day. But Webster hopes the pair can co-exist.
“He’s one of those guys that comes through where you just know how special he’s going to be,” Webster said. “He bowls quick, he’s big, he can catch, and obviously batting is another thing. What happens down the line in one or two years’ time, I’m not sure, and how that top order looks.
“What I can do is keep making runs, keep taking wickets and keep my name up there in that No. 6 position where I feel like I’m best suited. Like we’ve seen with Cameron, he’s so versatile, he can bat anywhere in the top six. I’m certainly hoping he can stay at the top of the order somewhere and free up some room down there at No. 6.”
