London : Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who will be making his return to the national side after a lengthy injury lay-off, shared how Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah showed him strong support ahead of an all-important back surgery, reported ESPNCricinfo.
Green will be playing the WTC final as a specialist batter against South Africa, and is expected to score big in order to help the Aussies become the first-ever team to defend their Test crown. He is giving himself some much-needed game time in the UK during the County Championship Division Two for Gloucestershire, scoring 467 runs in five matches and nine innings with three centuries and a fifty at an average of 66.71.
The 26-year-old all-rounder underwent back surgery last year in October, which kept him away from the home Test season, and it is not the first time he has faced an injury. He and Bumrah, in fact, both share a history of back injuries that kept them out of action for long.
Green aims to return as a full-fledged all-rounder later this year, but for now, his focus is playing as a specialist batter. Green opted for surgery even though his stress fracture could have been okay within nine to 12 months. He looked for support and advice from players who had been in his shoes, including Western Australian teammate Jason Behrendorff and Indian superstar Bumrah.
"The silver lining to having four back injuries is I have got four chances only to be a batter. I felt like my game's always been good around those periods. I am always going to keep bowling, but you are so much more relaxed [with] half a game to worry about. When you are bowling and batting, there is 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," said Green as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
Revealing his conversations with Bumrah, he added, "He (Bumrah) was in the middle of a Test match in India. Just a few things like that are really special and make 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 procedure meant that the all-rounder was up and about two weeks after surgery, and admitted coaches had to slow him down during rehab. He would have been available for his domestic side in the Sheffield Shield final in late March had they qualified.
His county stint has left him feeling better than ever as a batter, keen to take on English conditions. His four Tests in England had brought him just 134 runs at an average of 19.14, leading his dropping from the Ashes series in 2023.
"It is certainly the best I have felt batting in England. To get the chance to come over and play some country cricket is massively valuable. So it is the most prepared I have been. I think it is learning what the different conditions can bring... speaking to a few county guys who have been here for years, different ways to go about it. Certain cliches like defending straight and scoring square. It is normally the complete opposite to Australia, where you are looking to just hit straight down the ground," he added.
Green's last stint in Test cricket saw him play at number four while Steve Smith opened following the retirement of David Warner from the long format. The youngster remains grateful for a chance to bat at this position, with a 174* against New Zealand at Wellington being a highlight.
But with Smith now back at number four, Green will have to fit somewhere else. Barring an unlikely call to go without Beau Webster at No. 6 as the allrounder, that appears to be a chance to bat at number three, where Green has batted only once in his first-class career.
"You grow up through your whole career, you speak to anyone here, they have definitely batted in the top three or four throughout their whole junior career. I was no different, batting three until you get to first-class cricket. Absolutely no issues batting at three when you have done it your whole life," he said.
Australia squad for WTC final: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann. Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett.