Green Settles into No. 3 Role, Eyes Batting Success

Green Embracing Bat-Only Role Ahead of Test Return Cameron Green is relishing the chance to focus solely on his batting as he prepares for a return to Australia’s Test side, likely in a new role, ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa. The 25-year-old allrounder, sidelined since October after undergoing back surgery, has used his time away from bowling to refine his batting – with strong results. Green has struck three centuries for Gloucestershire in county cricket, reigniting his red-ball credentials and underlining his readiness for the rigours of Test cricket. “The silver lining to having four back injuries is I've got four chances only to be a batter,” Green said. “You're so much more relaxed when you’ve only got half a game to worry about.” While committed to returning as a genuine allrounder in the long term, Green acknowledged that the absence of bowling duties has given him renewed clarity and rhythm with the bat. “When you're bowling and batting, there's so much more you have to do bowling-wise to keep yourself fit. It does take away from batting. So certainly, just batting is nice.” Green’s likely inclusion in the XI could signal a shift in Australia’s middle order dynamics, with selectors set to balance his improved form against the structure of the team that retained the Ashes in England last year. Support from Peers Helped Green Embrace Surgery Path Cameron Green says the decision to undergo back surgery last year, ruling him out of Australia’s home summer, was ultimately an easy one—helped by the reassurance and encouragement of fellow professionals who had navigated similar challenges. While the stress fracture in his back could have healed naturally over nine to twelve months, Green chose the surgical route, spurred on by the successful recoveries of Ben Dwarshuis, Jason Behrendorff, and Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. “He [Bumrah] was in the middle of a Test match in India,” Green said. “Just a few things like that are really special and make you feel a lot better about it.” The message from Bumrah the night before Green's surgery was a major confidence boost, particularly given Bumrah’s own dominant return to international cricket after the same operation. Advancements in spinal surgery meant Green was up and moving within two weeks, and his recovery went so well that coaches had to slow him down during rehab. He was fit enough to have played in the Sheffield Shield final in late March, had Western Australia qualified. Now, with full fitness restored and red-ball form firing after three county centuries, Green appears well placed to rejoin Australia’s Test XI—not just as a batter in form, but as an allrounder whose long-term future is on stable ground.