Cameron Green believes his barnstorming finish to the Indian Premier League has primed him to be Australia’s Swiss Army Knife at the T20 World Cup.
Dropped by his new IPL side five games into the tournament, Green found his feet during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s late surge into the playoffs by upping his strike-rate from 107.93 in his first five games to 170.21 in his final seven.
The 25-year-old’s efforts might not be enough to crack into Australia’s XI when they face Oman on Wednesday (Thursday morning AEST), but the versatile allrounder could conceivably bat anywhere in the top eight when required.
“That’s the beauty of what I’ve been exposed to in the last few years. It’s not always been a consistent spot that I’ve locked into,” Green told reporters after Australia’s training session on Monday at the Three Ws Oval on Barbados’ west coast.
“But at the same time, I’m also thankful for that. I feel like I can jump in at many different roles. I think that’s where I see myself this tournament, maybe plugging holes in the team.
“It’s a pretty good team to get into. Wherever I get told I’m playing, I’ve got a bit of confidence and an idea where to bat anywhere.”
Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Tim David will be difficult to dislodge from the middle order, while Australia have backed in David Warner, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh as their top three.
But coach Andrew McDonald has flagged the Aussies are open to dropping a bowler for an extra allrounder if conditions suit, while Green’s bowling may be required with Marsh still on the mend from a hamstring complaint that will prevent him from bowling through the early stages of the tournament.
Green earnt his maiden IPL deal, a whopping A$3.15m purchase in 2023, after showcasing his power-hitting against the new ball.
The right-hander was used at No.3 in the early stages of this year’s tournament by RCB, where he’d also had success with Mumbai Indians (who traded him before this year’s IPL) during the 2023 season.
But Green flourished this year after being shifted further down the order. He credited ex-South Africa batter Neil McKenzie, now a coach at RCB, with helping him adjust.
“It’s pretty different when you bat at the top. Obviously, you have two fielders out at the start and you can play pretty proper cricket,” said Green.
“But maybe it took me a while to really work out how to go about batting in the lower order. You can still give yourself 10 balls to get yourself in, whereas sometimes when you’re inexperienced, you don’t feel like you have those 10 balls.
“It took me a while to understand that and (now) I think I kind of have done that.”
Green was granted a few days at home in Perth after RCB were knocked out of the IPL a fortnight ago, with his journey to Barbados relatively smooth compared to the ones taken by several of his teammates.
“Just one bag lost – my cricket bag but it came the next day,” said Green. “My trip was about 38 hours while Starcy’s (Mitchell Starc) was about 60 hours. So overall happy.”
Having spent more time in the nets than any of his teammates since linking up with the squad, Green admits he’s feeling a little sore but otherwise suggested his preparation could hardly have been better.
Balancing the in-demand Western Australian’s workloads between different formats has been a major challenge for the Australian management given how quickly he has become a wanted man in every arena.
Green skipped a T20I series against New Zealand in February to play in the Sheffield Shield to prepare for the ensuing Tests after a hectic preceding 12 months that saw him struggle at times with the switch between major red and white-ball campaigns.
That paid off with his best Test innings in Wellington, an unbeaten 174, and Green suggested a similar approach to upcoming series and tournaments is likely.
“Talking to the other guys, it’s been quite ridiculous the amount of travel and the lack of days at home, compared to normal years,” Green said about the 2023 calendar year that saw him feature in away Test tours to India and England, his first IPL, the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup.
“I think you weirdly get used to it, been doing it for two years now.
“This is the most prepared I’ve been for some sort of tour. I think you (often) go from a Test tour into a T20 or straight into a Test tour – it’s pretty extreme.
“But that’s the beauty of the IPL this year. You actually got some unbelievable practice leading into this. So a lot of the guys in our team are pretty confident and hopefully we can start the tournament off well.”
2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Australia’s squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Australia’s Group B fixtures
June 6: v Oman, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 10.30am AEST
June 9: v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados, 3am AEST
June 12: v Namibia, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10.30am AEST
June 16: v Scotland, Daren Sammy Stadium, St Lucia, 10.30am AEST
Super Eights, finals to follow if Australia qualify
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