Green to bowl with changed action ahead of Perth Test
Joel Gould and Scott Bailey |
Cameron Green’s reworked action is set to undergo its most gruelling on-field test at the WACA, in what looms as a crucial week for Australia ahead of the Ashes.
Green is set to bowl in a game for the first time in six weeks, when he returns on Tuesday from minor side soreness against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield.
Officials expect the 26-year-old to bowl 15 to 20 overs for Western Australia, in the final full week before the first Test in Perth starts next Friday.
Green has bowled just four overs this season, back on October 5 in the Shield clash with NSW at the WACA.
His last bowling stint in a match prior to that was in an ODI series in England in September last year, while he last ran in during a Test match in New Zealand in March 2024.
Green had surgery on the fifth stress fracture in his lower back in October of 2024 and returned to the Test side as a batter only during the winter.
A long and cautious return has followed, including playing the last Shield game as a batter only while still bowling in the nets.
“There have been minor changes with the bowling angle of my run up and trying to get my front foot slightly more out of the way and to the left, so I don’t have to fall over too much to get through the crease and trying to stand a bit taller,” Green told AAP.
“It is not like there has been a complete reinvention of my action.
“We have had an awesome 11 months being really diligent getting my back in a really good spot. I didn’t cut any corners.
“There was an Ashes we were focusing on so there was no need to rush me back.
“It was always going to be about easing my way back with a slow build-up through Shield cricket for WA.
“That is a great way to go about it. If we do all the right things it will pay dividends later.”
Green’s ability to bowl without issue this week could have some bearing on Beau Webster and Jake Weatherald’s Test chances.
Neither were able to make a big score for Tasmania against South Australia on Monday, as selectors weigh up playing an extra allrounder in Webster or specialist opener in Weatherald.
Regardless, chief selector George Bailey said he was not concerned by the fact Green had bowled just four overs in a match so far this summer.
“It is a 12-month build so to rush a step at the last moment doesn’t make much sense,” Bailey said.
“Your allrounder doesn’t need to be in a position to be bowl 30 to 40 overs hopefully. I think he will be really well placed.
“We are confident we will get good information from this round of Shield cricket and he will be bowling for us (in the opening Test).”
AAP
