Australia has received a massive boost with all-rounder Cameron Green recovering from his injury and making himself available for selection for the series decider at Newlands in Cape Town.
Green missed out on selection for the first two Tests after failing to recover in time from an abdominal injury he suffered during the final ODI against South Africa on September 30. Fit and ready for the third and final Test, with the series tied at 1-1, Green is unlikely to bowl, although he bowled a bit during Saturday’s net sessions.
“I’m all good to go,” he said. “Pretty surprised with how quickly it’s actually healed or how functional I feel only a few weeks after.”
Green will definitely walk into the playing XI for the third Test, with at least one change confirmed for Australia to their side that suffered an innings defeat in the second game in Gqeberha.
Green’s return will likely prompt a change in the batting order, with opener Nic Maddinson, Marnus Labuschagne and all-rounder Beau Webster all under pressure to retain their places. Though Labuschagne is expected to play the third Test despite moderate returns on this tour, Maddinson is most likely to make way for Green. That move would potentially see in-form batter Matt Renshaw returning to the top of the order, with Green and Webster batting in the lower middle order. However, should Australia decide against changing Renshaw’s batting position (5), at which he scored his career-best 190 in the Durban Test, Green would likely be shuffled across.
Batting at five against Bangladesh at home in August, Green tasted immense success, including scoring 104 and 67 in back-to-back innings across two Tests.
“I think I’ve had a lot of experience up and down the order,” Green said. “I think I’m well suited at four and five, but obviously we’ve had some pretty incredible cricketers bat in those positions. So, I’m very happy to move up and down the order depending on what the team wants.”
“Certainly [the Tests] up in Mackay and Darwin were huge positives in kind of how I wanted to play the game. There are probably learnings I took from the last Shield game I played, [in] kind of how I wanted to play, and it felt pretty natural to me,” he added.