On the same day that Cricket Australia announced that Australia’s Men’s Test Player of the Year would be named in honor of the legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne, young all-rounder Cameron Green delivered a superb performance to finish with his maiden Test five-wicket haul in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the MCG.
Green & Starc destroy African Batting Lineup
When Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen put up a century-plus partnership for the sixth wicket, it seemed like South Africa might be able to post a respectable total. Green, on the other hand, used bounce and movement to tear through the remainder of South Africa’s batting order, as the visitors lost their final five wickets for just 10 runs. He claimed four of his final five wickets in the space of 12 deliveries. Green’s performance was made more astounding by the fact that he hadn’t bowled much in previous Tests.
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In the Adelaide Test against the West Indies, stand-in skipper Steve Smith employed him for just six overs. Green bowled three overs as the rest of the bowlers took wickets on a seam-friendly surface at the Gabba. The all-rounder said that speaking with Australian captain Pat Cummins helped him establish his rhythm. It’s simply the beat. “It’s been a sluggish start to the summer; I simply wanted to bowl a couple of overs,” Green said at a news conference.
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Thankfully, I got a few today; I was just trying to get that rhythm. Especially in the second period, I felt like the run-up was extremely nice, and I trusted the front foot. My position as the fifth bowler to keep my end up… felt fantastic today. I really had a pretty nice conversation with Patty [Cummins] the day before, and I believe he sort of finds his rhythm when he bowls fourth and fifth stump, gets it through to the keeper,” Green said.
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He discovers when it’s sort of kissing through, the keeper is taking it at a fairly decent level, that’s how you assess how you’re doing. “You don’t really know how you’re doing and how you’re feeling if you’re bowling too straight and they [batters] keep patting it back to you,” he continued. Green also had a little of additional duty to carry as senior paceman Mitchell Starc damaged his finger on his bowling hand while seeking to pouch a catch off Nathan Lyon’s bowling and had to quickly depart the field.
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Green, the team’s fifth bowler, said that he was attempting to fathom what Cummins was thinking in the aftermath of Starc’s injury. I’m constantly thinking about what the captain is thinking, particularly as the fifth bowler. You wonder, ‘Have the major quicks had a break yet?’ and I was hoping they may bring back Stacy. We’ll have to wait and see how he pulls up; I hope he’s okay.
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