Australia’s Test selection plans have taken another turn with mixed reports on whether Cameron Green will be available as a batter for the India series.
On Tuesday, The Nine papers reported Aussie officials are already planning for most of a summer without Green as a bowling option due to a back injury.
But he could return to the field for Australia A’s game against India A at the MCG in early November purely as a batter, and be available through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
However, Cricket Et Al’s Peter Lalor has reported on Green is “no chance” of featuring in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth due to the “serious back injury.
According to Lalor, there is a chance he could be ruled out of the Test summer altogether, with more details to be confirmed later on Wednesday.
Much of the 25-year-old’s value comes from his ability to contribute as a bowler though he is most likely to be needed in that role in the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, where he is some chance of being available.
At the very least backup bowlers such as Scott Boland and Michael Neser will now have a greater chance of selection if required to spell, or replace, Australia’s stars.
If Green can only bat it could add to the growing push for him to open.
With Steve Smith, who filled the gap left by David Warner after his retirement, likely to move back to No.4 former Australian coach Darren Lehmann nominated the West Australian as a potential opener.
“For me, Smith goes to four, there’s no doubt about that,” Lehmann told the ABC.
“That means either Green has to open or they go for a traditional opener.”
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Marcus Harris showed the worth of a specialist opener navigating tricky early conditions to carve a statement century for Victoria as rising star Sam Konstas went even bigger scoring a massive first hundred for NSW as the shining lights on the opening day of the Sheffield Shield season.
While national selection chief George Bailey was in Sydney watching 19-year-old Konstas’ breakthrough innings of 152, his co-selector Tony Dodemaide was at the Junction Oval to see Harris, the former Test opener, power to his 29th first class hundred, making 143 after some lusty late hitting.
Having taken a different approach to the new season despite the lingering prospect of a return to the national side dangling like a carrot, as selectors weigh up who might partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order for the upcoming series against India, Harris and captain Peter Handscomb, who made his own hundred, rescued the Vics on a big scoring day at the Junction Oval.
Further north, Konstas, in just his fourth Sheffield Shield game, stood up as his teammates floundered to make a memorable maiden first class hundred against South Australia who listed Travis Head to come in at No.4, an indication that his state team at least had no intention of seeing him work against the new ball.
The two hundreds from the openers came as another Test hopeful, Cameron Bancroft, the leading Shield run-scorer over the past two seasons, was out for a first-ball duck in Perth.
The West Australian opener was the first of Queensland quick Michael Neser’s two wickets in the first two balls of their clash, with Mitch Marsh, only just back from a long white-ball tour of the UK, forced to hold out the hat trick ball with his team 2-0.
Early wickets fell in Melbourne too as Harris lost his opening partner, Ashley Chandrasinghe, was dismissed in the opening over at the Junction Oval and Campbell Kellaway shortly after to leave the Vics reeling at 2-22 against Tasmania.
Then Harris and Handscomb, who smashed out 129 as stand-in skipper, put on a 239-run stand, Harris bringing up his century with a reverse sweep off 146 balls.
Victoria lost 3-5 late in the day to reach 7-330 at stumps.
The now 32-year-old Harris, having signed a long-term deal with the Vics, said he was playing without possible Test selection “hanging over my head like I had last year”.
“Probably in the past, it’s weighed on my mind a lot more than what it is at the moment,” he said after his innings.
“I’m just sort of playing it as it comes at me. I think last year was a good lesson for that. I’ll just keep playing whatever I’m playing and trying to put some runs on the board.
“I think it’s always helpful if you get runs early in the season, to sort of kick-start your season a little bit. But, yeah, just focus on what I’m doing here.”
Incumbent opener Smith was rested from the NSW side for the opening game leaving it to rising star Konstas to stand up while wickets fell around him.
Konstas, who was part of Australia’s Under 19 team which lost the World Cup final to India in February, reached his century just before tea, and went on with his innings in the final session in an imperious effort which stamped him as a future star.
His previous highest score for NSW was 57, his only half-century, having played three matches last summer, and smashed 13 fours and four sixes in his 241 ball innings.
“It’s good to get my first one,” Konstas said, putting his effort down to working on his mental state at the crease, which includes meditating, and a pre-match text exchange with mentor Shane Watson.
“I gave him a text message, how I was feeling about my mental stuff, and he told me to keep it simple, back my plans.
“He’s been an awesome support to me.”
NSW was 7-297 when bad light stopped play, Konstas having scored more than half of his teams total runs and Test spinner Nathan Lyon out for an 18-ball duck.
At the WACA, after the early batting carnage where Neser snared a third wicket when he removed Marsh for 13, the home team was 3-47 at lunch.
However, the hosts recovered thanks to centuries from Josh Inglis (122) and Sam Whiteman (102) to be 7-319 at stumps.
Neser was superb for the Bulls, finishing the day with the brilliant figures of 5-48 from 22 overs.
