Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has given a strong indication that Cameron Green will remain part of the Test side later this year despite his difficult Ashes series, with the potential he and fellow allrounder Beau Webster could continue to feature in the same XI.
Green averaged 24.42 with the bat and 70.75 with the ball against England, a series that included his wild dismissal at the Gabba when he backed away to Brydon Carse, two poor shots in Adelaide, and running himself out at the MCG.
After 37 Tests since his debut in 2020, Green has a batting average of 32.75 with two centuries and a bowling return of 38.94, although he did have to contend with a long period out of the game after back surgery in late 2024. He was overlooked for the 2023-24 home summer, having been dropped at the end of the previous away Ashes, when Mitchell Marsh took the allrounder spot.
Green holds a first-class batting average of 45.52, which rises to 53.38 in the Sheffield Shield, where he made a century for Western Australia in the final game of the season.
Asked on SEN radio whether there was a determination to keep picking Green, McDonald said: "I think the answer to that is, yes. I've got to talk to the selectors around that, there's a couple of others on the panel. But if you looked at the last team, let's just take that, Usman [Khawaja] has retired, and he vacates the No. 5 position where he was opening and he went to five to finish off. But you've got Webster and Green that potentially can play in the same team, should we see it that way, so that gives us incredible flexibility.
"But I think he's [Green] good enough. Anyone that's averaging that at Shield level suggests that he's ahead of the pack there, and it's only a matter of time before it gets to a situation where he's performing for Australia.
"I think he's got a few things to work on around his game, but that's no different to anyone else."
In the SCG Test against England referenced by McDonald, Green and Webster had been carded to bat at No. 7 and 8 respectively, although they came in a position lower in the first innings due to Michael Neser acting as a nightwatchman. Webster made an unbeaten 71 and took three wickets in his only appearance of the series to make a compelling case to be retained for the Bangladesh series in August.
The duo featured together in four consecutive Tests against South Africa (in the WTC final) and West Indies last year while Green was unable to bowl and took the No. 3 position, but Webster lost his spot for the start of the Ashes despite consistent returns to that point.
McDonald acknowledged that Green's terse exchange with a journalist in Sydney a few weeks ago was "very unlike Cameron Green".
He added that Green, who is currently at the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders, is dealing with the challenges of being a three-format player but also noted how some of his best Test performances - particularly with the bat - have come away from home, where he averages 36.69 compared to 28.96 in Australia.
"I think there's a lens in Australia that's slightly bias towards what he's done on the home shore," McDonald said. "So that's a challenge for him. I think he's good enough. We'll see the journey out with him.
"We're talking about Shield runs, and he goes back to Shield cricket and gets 100 straight away. He averages 50-plus in Shield cricket, where everyone else is averaging 35. So, to me, it's only a matter of time before that connects into Test cricket.
"There's huge expectation within the IPL, and there's huge expectation with any allrounder that shapes an Australian team. You only have to look a short time ago: Mitch Marsh's journey, and Shane Watson, and even Andrew Symonds at the start of his career.
"It's not unfair, but there is an expectation around allrounders that they contribute in a certain way. It's almost like they want them to average 45 with the bat and average less than 30 with the ball. And there's been very few that do that.
"I'm sure that his career will trend upwards. We know he's good enough. He's just got to balance out all those expectations, and in particular, playing all three formats, which is a significant challenge for any cricketer, let alone a player that's still learning."
Australia's next batch of men's central contracts are due to be announced on Wednesday with a strong focus on Test cricket expected, particularly around fast bowlers, due to the heavy schedule from August onwards.