Green To Restart Bowling In Shield, India ODIs As He Aims For Full Fitness During Ashes

Cameron Green’s stint as a temporary ‘specialist batter’ might have gone really well, but the 26-year-old is all set to turn into an all-rounder again this weekend as he restarts bowling duty to be fully ‘bowling fit’ for The Ashes Down Under.

Green had back surgery exactly one year ago, and that has, till now, restricted him to just batting in international matches. And he did that really well, thriving across formats away in the West Indies while smashing the second-fastest ODI century for Australia in the home ODI series against South Africa.

But the 26-year-old will be bowling first in the Sheffield Shield and then in the India ODIs, with the end goal being an ‘unrestricted’ Ashes.

"It's been a long 12 months, but feeling really good .The body's in a good place. It's been a really good rehab journey. I feel stronger, fitter, my action feels good,” Green said, reported ESPNCricinfo.

"It will be eight overs for the [Shield] game. Just a steady build-up. The first Test should be no restrictions. That's kind of the whole plan of the last year.

"That's why it's been such a slow build up - so that you're peaking by the time the Ashes comes around."

Green’s first Shield outing will be tomorrow (October 4) against New South Wales in Perth, where he will be batting at No.4. He will be looking to emulate what he will be doing in The Ashes, which is batting in the Top 4 (likely at No.3) while also sending down overs.

He hopes, though, that the presence of Beau Webster in the Test side will lighten his load and ensure that he gets sufficient rest.

"Shane Watson used to open the batting and bowl," Green said. 

"People probably don't realise how tough that was. Spending so long in the field bowling, and then expected to go out there and bat the last 10 overs of the day for example, is really challenging.

"But I think I'm in a bit of a different place. Let's say I'm batting up the top, and Beau's batting six, for example - he might take more of the [bowling] load."

Green will play three Shield matches before The Ashes, but it’s unclear whether he’ll play the second round, given it’s scheduled for October 15-18 while the India ODI series starts on October 19.