As much as Cameron Greenโs second century in five matches for Gloucestershire strengthened his case for an instant recall for the world Test championship final after back surgery, it was the manner of his doing so that will hearten the national selectors.
After a comeback hundred against Kent in mid-April, Green was put on his back by cramping as he tried to celebrate the milestone, and retired hurt. He gingerly followed up that opening innings with a quartet of low scores.
Australian batsman Cameron Green raises a century for Gloucestershire against Kent.Credit: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club via X
But for the return game against Kent at Bristol, Greenโs pull shot to reach three figures in the final over of the day was followed by a statuesque celebration as he stood tall, bat and helmet aloft, to acknowledge teammates and a crowd that chanted his name. Unbeaten on 102 at stumps, he looked good for more time in the middle
โIt was amazing. I definitely wanted a good score in front of the fans,โ Green said afterwards. โTheyโve come out in force the two games Iโve been here, and Iโd never really experienced chanting of my name before, so that was awesome to experience. A really cool moment.
โI feel sorry in a way, doing it against the same opposition. But you take them when they come. We played a couple of shots, the crowd got up, and you felt like you were really on top of them.โ
An apology for making a hundred against the same opposition marks Green as still the gentlest of giants, but his upward trend has demonstrated that one of the truisms of the 25-year-oldโs career thus far is also still in evidence.
When Green has struggled at Test level it has often been to do with switching formats quickly. In 2023 on his last visit to England, Green had made his first Test hundred in India, but followed that with several months at the Indian Premier League, and returned a paltry 134 runs at 19.14 in four matches on the subsequent Test championship and Ashes tour.
Green has also battled a common rite of passage for young players โ that of shuffling between different batting positions before gaining a settled berth. That has been most evident in white-ball cricket for Australia, where he has batted everywhere from opening to number eight across ODIs and T20 games so far.
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