VICTORIA: Right-handed batsman Cameron Green is tipped as Australia’s latest Test opening choice, with Travis Head likely to work with Travis Head in a bid to include both him and Beau Webster in the playing XI, according to a report.
Despite being dropped to No.8 during the fifth Ashes Test, Green is among the contenders to fill Usman Khawaja’s void, according to Nine’s Dan Brittick.
Since the end of the Khawaja-David Warner opening partnership, the Australian team has experimented with a number of combinations at the top, including Jake Weatherold with interim opener Head.
Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas and Marnus Labuschagne have also been offered opportunities to inhabit the role.
Australia face a demanding schedule with two Tests against Bangladesh in Northern Australia in August, a three-Test tour of South Africa in October, four Tests at home against New Zealand in peak summer, followed by a five-Test tour of India and the historic 150th anniversary Test against England in early March.
Australian head coach Andrew Macdonald has reportedly raised the possibility of changing Green’s role in the red-ball set-up when discussing the team’s evolving structure.
“Usman retired, so there’s a gap at the top,” McDonald said.
“We played an eight-batter team if you want to call it that, with Beau Webster doing spin duties. So we had opportunities within our team.
“(Green) person? We’ve got a long time to understand what our team will be like and then we’ll go into the field for a possible 21 Tests.
“The red-ball conversation is happening further down the track. The game starts in Brisbane in early July and we’ll start building on that. He didn’t have the summer he wanted last year.”
Backing the line of Travis Head, no. 3 or his former position no. The report suggests another option could include a No. 5, although Australia have yet to finalize who will start in that scenario.
Australia begin the ODI series against Pakistan on Saturday, with Green expected to play a significant role after several recent retirements from senior players.
“There’s an element of, well, where do we want to position people?” McDonald said.
“With Glenn Maxwell out of the squad, do we need some power in the closing role? Is Cameron a four? … He’s been up and down the order, so there are more questions than answers at the moment, but let’s try a few things.
“His impact with the bat, the ball and then the field balances our team. Even though sometimes he doesn’t perform as well as outsiders expect, you have to understand the sum of all the parts and what he does in balancing our team and making others better.
“Sometimes we criticize the performance of the individual and we don’t look at the performance of the team as a whole. So he is an incredibly important all-rounder in white-ball cricket.”
MacDonald recently admitted that while Green “didn’t get the runs he wanted”, his wider contributions remain vital to the side, insisting he should not be judged on batting output alone.
He also noted the difficulty all-rounders face in maintaining consistency across all formats, saying “very few have done it”.
“He’s held himself to a high standard in the way he critiques his performance, and I think the exterior has held that high standard as well,” MacDonald said.
“What’s missing in how we rate him is the sum of all the parts and what he does for the team in setting it up, his fielding positions.
“He’s not getting the runs he wants and we’re not hiding the fact that he’s not performing to the level we think he can. He’s working incredibly hard at it.”
Green has been tested in several batting positions since his return to the national team in June last year, including the World Test Championship final and the West Indies tour.
He later returned to the middle order during the Ashes series before moving to No.8 in his most recent Test against England at the SCG in January.
“We’re going to find a position for him and he’s been up and down,” McDonald added. “That’s not an excuse, but it’s something we’re working on.”