Australia faces a nervous wait after all-rounder Cameron Green was ruled out of the remainder of the ODI series in England with a back injury.
On Friday evening, Cricket Australia confirmed the 25-year-old reported back soreness following Tuesday’s third ODI in Chester-le-Street, which England won by 46 runs via DLS. He underwent scans in London, but the extent of the injury and a timeline for his return won’t be determined until he returns home for further assessment.
Green, who will travel to Perth this week to begin rehabilitation ahead of the home summer, has an unfortunate history with back injuries. He was prohibited from bowling during the 2019/20 summer due to a stress fracture in his lower back.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting speculated that Green’s six-over burst of short-pitched bowling during the Durham ODI potentially contributed to the injury.
“That could be significant,” former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said on Sky Sports commentary.
“We know with Cameron Green, he has had stress fractures in his back in the past. Let’s hope it’s not that.
“They still have the option of playing him as a batsman if it’s not too bad.”
Green becomes the latest casualty from Australia’s white-ball tour of the United Kingdom, joining Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis and Ben Dwarshius, while bowler Josh Hazlewood, wicketkeeper Josh Inglis and batter Jake Fraser-McGurk have also missed matches due to minor injuries.
Inglis replaced Green in the starting XI for the fourth ODI at Lord’s, while spinner Adam Zampa and opener Travis Head returned in place of Aaron Hardie and Matt Short.
Cameron Green of Australia celebrates dismissing Will Jacks of England. Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Australia’s next assignment after the United Kingdom tour is a home ODI series against Pakistan, which gets underway on November 4, before the first Test against India in Perth later that month.
Pending the severity of the injury, which is yet to be determined, Green could be required to play as a specialist batter for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Meanwhile, if he wasn’t available for the first Test against India in Perth, it would create further intrigue surrounding the identity of Usman Khawaja’s opening partner.
Green’s absence would open the door for Steve Smith to return to No. 4 with a specialist opener sliding into the Test starting XI. Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw are among the leading candidates, while Tasmania’s Beau Webster could earn a call-up if Australia needed another bowling all-rounder.
Last month, Australian captain Pat Cummins spoke about the importance of Green’s bowling for the Test side this summer.
“We’ll be drawing on Cam Green and Mitch Marsh (to bowl) a bit more,” Cummins told reporters.
“Cam basically started in Shield cricket as a bowler but hasn’t had to bowl heaps in Test matches. Now he is a few years older, I think we will be leaning on him a bit more.”
