Cameron Green will return to international cricket this week as he joins Australia’s 50-over squad in Islamabad.
The 26-year-old’s late dash at making the Indian Premier League playoffs with Kolkata Knight Riders fell short, but he will now focus on the 2027 ODI World Cup, where his all-round skills will be crucial. Andrew McDonald has admitted the team’s mentorship of Green is being reviewed to help him fulfill his all-format promise.
Green has exclusively batted at numbers three and four in Australia’s white-ball teams for the past 18 months, but McDonald believes he has the ability to play high up the order and low down.
A conversation has taken place about how best to use him in the ODI arena, with McDonald revealing there are options in play.
One challenge Green faces is filling the shoes of retired players Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who both played a vital role in the team’s balance, particularly Maxwell’s in winning the 50-over event in India in 2023.
There is hope that Green’s range of skills, including his bowling, can solve both of these problems by moving down the batting order.
Whether he can solve these problems remains to be seen, but McDonald believes he is crucial to the team’s success in the winter white-ball tours, which will take place in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
The 50-over team’s tour of Pakistan will start with six one-dayers in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Dhaka, with Green set to play a key role for Australia.
The 2027 ODI World Cup is a key focus for the team, and with Green back in the fold, there is plenty of optimism surrounding their chances. But how they choose to utilize him will be crucial in the coming months.
In a conversation with McDonald, the Western Australian revealed he has spoken to Green about how best to use him in the ODI arena, with a focus on building towards next year’s World Cup.
Green has been batting at three in his last start in the 50-over team, a 47-ball ton in a dead rubber against South Africa in Mackay last August, but McDonald believes he has the ability to play high up the order and low down.
‘It’s really where we position him and what role we want him to play, because I think he’s got the ability to really play high up the order and low,’ said McDonald.
‘He does have some power, we saw in that Top End series last year against South Africa, his ability to finish off that innings in the absence of Glenn Maxwell, so we had that conversation.
‘We keep these things open – experiment is not the right word – but we’ll look at different ways to play in the journey to the 2027 World Cup and where he fits exactly in that.’
The 50-over team’s tour of Pakistan will start with six one-dayers in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Dhaka, with Green set to play a key role for Australia.
The tour will be a crucial moment for Green, who will look to make his mark on international cricket. With the 2027 ODI World Cup on the horizon, there is plenty of optimism surrounding Australia’s chances, but they face stiff competition from other teams.
Australia’s Test-heavy schedule through 2026-27 will also be crucial for Green, as he looks to unlock his full potential against the red ball.
McDonald’s implication that the expectations on Green’s Test output might be bordering on unrealistic holds some weight when his career record is compared with some of Test cricket’s best allrounders at the same stage of their respective careers.
Comparison with Cricket Legends
A comparison with the likes of Jacques Kallis, Garfield Sobers, and Ian Botham shows Green does not yet deserve to be considered among many of those legends.
But the numbers also show that Green is not miles away from being considered a peer either. Indeed, his record with the bat is better than Flintoff’s and roughly the same with the ball after 37 Tests, by which point the England allrounder was about 12 months away from his career-defining 2005 Ashes campaign.
With the 2027 ODI World Cup on the horizon, Green will look to make his mark on international cricket. But for now, the focus is on the winter white-ball tours, where he will be crucial for Australia.
