Green's Grit at No. 3: Half-Century Fuels Hopes for Continued Batting Improvement

Cameron Green, Australia's newly appointed No.3 in Test cricket, expressed his satisfaction with his resilient performance during the second innings of the Grenada Test against the West Indies on Saturday. His innings of 52 runs, crafted from 123 deliveries, marked his first half-century in that crucial batting position. He also forged a significant 93-run partnership with Steve Smith, who celebrated his return to the team with a fluent 71.

Cameron Green's determined innings at No. 3 helps Australia. © AFP

"You always need an innings here and there just to get you going and hopefully today was one of those," Green stated after the day's play. "If anything, it's good to get some time out there, there's a lot of good things I get out of just spending time in the middle. My balls faced has been trending up; the runs haven't been there but there's certainly little positives I can take out of it."

Following back surgery, Green missed the entire 2024-25 home season but made a comeback with Gloucestershire in County cricket. During his stint, he notched three centuries in five matches, including one in his first innings. He was then chosen as the designated No.3 batsman for the WTC final, with Marnus Labuschagne promoted to open alongside Usman Khawaja. After Labuschagne lost his Test spot and Smith was sidelined with a hand injury in the first Test against West Indies, Green's start at No.3 proved challenging until Saturday night. Preceding his patient 52, he had scores of 4, 0, 3, 15 and 26.

Green commented on his new batting role, stating, "If you ask most of the guys in our changeroom, they've all batted number three their whole junior career and no different with me. I've batted number four for WA (and Australia), being one spot up is no different."

He further added, "I don't think I ever really felt comfortable out there (on that pitch) - certainly (Friday) night was tricky and just with the new ball today (Saturday), I had to start again. You could probably ask a different question to Steve, he was batting on a different wicket. He's clearly a class above - that's a tough wicket so to play as well as he did was incredible."

The injury layoff before the WTC final means Green is currently focusing solely on his batting, not yet ready to contribute as an all-rounder.

"To be able to sneak into (the team) while still not bowling, I'm incredibly grateful for that and hopefully my output can be a little better than it has been. But today was a nice sign that things are trending well," he mentioned, offering insights into his potential return to bowling.

He concluded, "I've certainly had enough rest, so my back is not an issue, it's more getting load ups now. It'll be a steady progression and hopefully around a couple of the Shield games (I'll be bowling), potentially one-dayers against India (in October), but those are all pretty far away, so we'll wait and see."