Durban: Australia have suffered a major blow on the eve of the Test series against South Africa, with all-rounder Cameron Green ruled out of the first Test in Durban (starting October 9) due to an abdominal strain.
Head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Tuesday that Green, hurt by a Corbin Bosch full toss while batting in the third ODI in Potchefstroom last week, had failed to recover in time. The 27-year-old was struck in the abdominal region and then strained the muscle as he fell completing a pull shot, and subsequently sat out the two-day tour game.
McDonald described it as a “stabilising” rather than “rotational” muscle injury — the better outcome — and said Green would undergo a week of rehabilitation with net sessions during the first Test. There is hope he could return as a specialist batter for the later Tests in Gqeberha and Johannesburg, but McDonald admitted bowling was “highly unlikely” and “too-high risk” given Green’s ongoing shoulder issues, which had already restricted him to 10 overs across the Bangladesh Tests in August.
“It’s a bit of an unknown, but there’s still optimism that he’ll take part in the series at some stage,” McDonald said.
Green’s absence hurts Australia’s balance badly. He was their leading run-scorer in the drawn Bangladesh series with a century and a fifty, and his seam bowling gave the attack a genuine fifth option. In his absence, Cooper Connolly, the recalled Nic Maddinson and Beau Webster are in contention for the middle-order vacancy.
