‘Embarrassing’ wicket not enough to rattle Cameron Green’s mentality leading into third Test
An ugly dismissal under lights at the Gabba is one Cameron Green admits he is “embarrassed” by, but it will not ruin his mentality for the rest of the Ashes series.
Green backed away from a ball that he expected to be a bouncer from Brydon Carse in the evening session on day two at the Gabba, where he soon after found stuck outside leg stump and unable to reach a full ball.
The bails came flying off the stumps, leaving Green to depart with 45 off 57 balls.
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It meant that Green’s hopes of securing his first century on home soil were yet again pushed back, with 84 his top score in the Test format in Australia.
Cameron Green is bowled by Brydon Carse. Getty
However, even with that nightmare wicket and some strapping to his thumb – an injury he suffered after being struck by a Carse short ball in Brisbane – he is still in high spirits.
“It looks quite bad when you get out, you walk off a little bit embarrassed … but they’re all really great learnings for future games,” he said.
“It is a really good plan on his end. The way we were going that was the best way I saw it, it’s not always going to pay off.”
Green’s insisted his mindset to Carse and company’s short-pitched bowling was dependant on the match and conditions.
Given the Adelaide Oval field has shorter square boundaries and longer straights, Green appeared to be more open to the idea of taking it on more.
“It depends how we’re going,” he said.
“I think we were 30-40 runs behind, were the extra runs really crucial at night? Maybe, maybe not. All those things you weigh up during an innings to work out what the best thing is for the team. When you first start you’ve probably got a cover drive and a pull shot, whereas now you may walk down the wicket, you’ve got a bit more confidence.
“That’s the beauty of playing in a team with really experienced guys around me, I’m watching how they go about it and then try to build that into my game.”
Cameron Green speaks to media. Getty
Temperatures for the third Test in Adelaide are set to reach up to 40 degrees, a forecast which could work in favour of the Australian team.
But that will not be used as a reason for the green and gold to become complacent, especially given they did so in 2023 while being 2-0 up in the series.
“That’s a good reminder for our team to stay really level and finish it off,” Green said.
“We never looked too far ahead over there, I think England welcomed back Mark Wood and [Chris] Woakesy, who both played really well that series.”
Green was one of the many Australian batters who had a long hit out in the nets on Sunday, with captain Pat Cummins also seen back in action.
Travis Head and Usman Khawaja were both batting in the nets, although it remains unclear which of the pair will open alongside Jake Weatherald in Adelaide.
The third Test of the series will begin on Wednesday December 17.
