FEATURES
Follow UsAustralia boast plenty of seam-bowling all-rounders in their white-ball setup; however, the same cannot be said about red-ball resources in the same department. That largely circles around only one man, Cameron Green, whose participation in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy is in serious doubt due to a back injury.
The all-rounder made his Test debut the last time India toured Down Under for Test matches. Since then, Green has established himself as the batting all-rounder in the team, averaging 36.2 with the bat and 35.3 with the ball for his 35 wickets in 28 Tests.
Green has become a vital part of Australia’s line-up, especially at home as a tall fourth seam-bowling option. This could be the first time he misses a home summer if he undergoes surgery.
In an important home series, as Australia aim to reclaim the BGT after nearly a decade, Green’s absence would throw Australia’s combination off balance. Mitchell Marsh can bowl but Australia have reduced his bowling load to a bare minimum. He also didn’t bowl in the first match of the Sheffield Shield season for Western Australia.
Hence, in this piece, we look at various combinations through which Australia can fill that void.
Option 1: Like-for-like replacement: Draft in an all-rounder
The first sensible route seems to bring in an all-rounder but as mentioned above, there are no established options.
Michael Neser has been around with his strong performances in first-class cricket in Australia and England. Since 2022, the 34-year-old has 132 wickets in 35 first-class matches. He averages 23.3 with the ball and 37.4 with the bat including four hundreds. Even better, he averages 21.5 bowling in Australia. With such numbers, he should be the frontline option for most teams. However, Australia would be looking for a batting all-rounder to truly replace Green and Neser, being a bowling all-rounder, may hence have to keep waiting.
Among batting all-rounders, Australia may consider Tasmania’s Beau Webster and New South Wales’ Jack Edwards. Webster had a terrific 2023/24 Sheffield Shield: with the ball, he pouched 29 wickets in 11 matches at 28.7 runs apiece. And with the bat, he was the highest run-getter in the season as he hammered 938 runs at an average of 58.6 with three hundreds, raising his stocks in the format. He also scored a hundred against Victoria in the first round of the new Shield season that began last week.
Edwards, only 24 years old, also had a decent 2023/24 season (batting average 33.9, bowling average 24.7).
Australia could still go the Neser way and have a lower-order of useful batting contributions from the bowlers (Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon being the others). The fact that he has played two Tests can help his case.
But to pull this move off, Australia would still need one of Travis Head or Steve Smith to open. But on the upside, they will have five proper bowlers (if they pick Neser) or a supportive fourth seamer (Webster or Edwards).
Option 2: Pick a specialist opener
Australia could use the spot vacated by Green to play a specialist opener. There has been a lot of chatter about Usman Khawaja’s opening partner. Steve Smith opened in four Tests but without much success. As anticipated, he is set to move back to number four. Travis Head opens in white-ball but has done so only thrice in Test cricket and that too in much different conditions in India. Moreover, he has been a priceless asset in the middle order since his return to Test cricket in 2021.
The Aussies have a handful of options for this role – Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Matt Renshaw, Sam Konstas and Sam Whiteman.
The first three names would be eyeing a comeback. Bancroft hasn’t been picked since the 2019 Ashes but is in the most consistent run in his life, averaging 44.2 in the top-order in first-class cricket since 2023, including seven hundreds. He bagged a pair to begin the 2024/25 Sheffield season but was the second-highest scorer in the 2023/24 season (778 runs, 48.6 average, four hundreds). He was also a successful signing for Gloucestershire in the recently concluded County Championship.
Marcus Harris was dropped in 2022 but has plundered six hundreds in first-class cricket since 2023.
Among the new names, the 19-year-old Sam Konstas is earmarked for the future and his twin hundreds this week against South Australia may convince the selectors that he is ready for the bigger grind. Sam Whiteman, Western Australia’s captain, the third-highest Shield scorer last season has also presented his case with a hundred to begin the season, against Queensland.
The downside of this move: Australia would be relying on Head, Smith, Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne to fill in as the fifth bowler.
Option 3: A middle-order specialist batter
Probably the least likely option but definitely on the cards. Australia could continue with a makeshift Test opener (Smith or Head), and considering India’s bowling might, they may name a specialist middle-order batter, with candidates in Josh Inglis, Oliver Davies and Nathan McSweeney.
All three of them average over 40 recently with Inglis and Davis averaging over 50 at a healthy strike rate too.
Inglis’ presence in this lot alone can persuade Australia to take this route. Although he has only played white-ball cricket for Australia, he is their most experienced batter at the international level among all the specialist batting options available. He has played only seven first-class matches since 2023 but his hundred this week against Queensland (122 off only 117 balls) can get him his maiden Test cap against India.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.
