Oz all-rounder Cameron Green could miss Pakistan one-dayer

Melbourne — All-rounder Cameron Green may be spared white-ball duties for Australia to focus on his red-ball game ahead of the Test series against India in the next home summer, says coach Andrew McDonald.

Green played Sheffield Shield cricket with Western Australia in the run-up to the current New Zealand Test series, and the red-ball preparation helped set him up for his match-winning 174 not out in the Wellington opener.

McDonald said recently Green might be given a similar lead-in to the five-Test series against India and be rested from scheduled one-day internationals and T20Is against Pakistan that start the home summer.

“I’d like to probably err on the side of preparing him through red ball. We know how good a white-ball player he is, so you put a priority on what it looks like next summer,” McDonald told reporters.

“The white-ball cricket’s important, but that Test summer’s important, so I think with the results he’s had [at Wellington] he’ll probably come to us and say, ‘Can you give us a couple of Shield games before the first Test against India?’”

Australia beat the Black Caps by 172 runs at the Basin Reserve, the margin of victory almost matching Green’s first innings knock,  the second hundred of his Test career.

Green followed up his century with a vital 34 as Australia were skittled for 164 in their second innings.

Wellington cemented Green’s ownership of the No 4 slot long held by one of the nation’s greatest batters in Steve Smith, who now opens with Usman Khawaja after the retirement of David Warner from the format.

Green’s stocks have risen as teammate Marnus Labuschagne’s have plummeted, the No 3’s struggles laid bare in Wellington where he managed a total of three runs. Once scoring centuries for fun, Labuschagne has not surpassed 10 runs in his past six Test innings.

Ahead of the second and final New Zealand Test starting in Christchurch on Friday, McDonald said there was no great concern with Labuschagne’s form so long as his teammates were pulling the weight.

“We want the top six, seven batters to be performing as a collective,” he said. “Can he perform better? No doubt about that. Does he know that? He knows that. Over time there’s going to be ebbs and flows in your career.”

Uncapped Wellington fast bowler Ben Sears will replace Will O’Rourke in New Zealand’s squad for the second Test, quashing fans’ hopes of a Neil Wagner recall.

O’Rourke was ruled out of the Christchurch match with a hamstring injury, raising speculation that fan favourite Wagner might come out of retirement to help the Black Caps square the series.

New Zealand coach Gary Stead poured cold water on that, saying selectors had gone for a “like-for-like” replacement for O’Rourke in picking Sears, who has an average of 27.03 in 19 first-class matches.

“We wanted someone with genuine pace. Ben’s done that. He’s had recent international success against Australia as well, which was part of the decision-making and in going with him as the replacement for Will,” Stead said.

Reuters