how do you solve a problem like cameron green?!
how much longer will the selectors persist with him, before it bites the aussies in the arse come the 2027 ashes series?
“I think I'm drowning, asphyxiated, I wanna break this spell that you've created. You're something beautiful, a contradiction. I wanna play the game, I want the friction. And you will be the death of me. Yeah, you will be the death of me.”
Travis Head, you are an absolute legend with balls of steel, and I will be forever in awe of the way you dismantled the Pommie pace attack all summer. The audacious way you played your shots brought a tear to my eye. Not only were you the top run scorer for the series with 629 runs @ 62.9, but you scored these runs at a strike rate of over 87! Throw in three glorious centuries, and you once again proved to everyone that you are a world class commodity. The ease at which you dominated over the series left England captain Ben Stokes scratching his head and having no answers to stop the assault. Thank you TravBall for allowing Australia to once again come out victorious.
Yes, Alex Carey and Steve Smith also made vital contributions with the bat, but the remaining top order failed to consistently fire. Somehow, even with Josh Hazlewood missing the entire series and Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon missing huge chunks of it too, the Australian makeshift bowling attack managed to get enough wickets for the series win. Mitch Starc was the star with 31 wickets at a miserly 19.93. He was admirably supported by the evergreen Scott Boland and Michael Neser. with 20 and 15 wickets a piece.
So, the million-dollar question here is this, what does the Aussie Top 7 batters look like come that the first test of the 2027 Ashes Series in England? Who opens with Trav? Does Trav open in England or bat back at Number 4? Who will be the smoky to grab the other opening batting position left vacant with Usman Khawaja’s retirement? Will Marnus keep his place at Number 3? How long will the Cameron Green experiment continue? As you can see, there are more questions than answers at this point.
Let’s stay with the Cameron Green conundrum, shall we? He has now played 37 tests for Australia since his debut against the Indians back in 2020. He has already played more test matches than Chris Rogers, Darren Lehmann, Stuart Law, Martin Love, Phil Jacques, Matthew Elliott, Brad Hodge and Andrew Symonds! It's incredible to think that the someone of the calibre of David Hussey, who scores over over 14,000 first class runs @ 52.50, couldn’t crack the strong batting lineup, yet Cameron Green continues to dodge to selectors’ axe repeatedly.
After 37 tests, here is Cameron Green’s test record:
59 innings, 6 Not Outs with 1736 runs at an average of 32.75. His top score is 174* against New Zealand, and he scored two centuries as well as seven fifties. In essence, his top score is 10% of his aggregate overall run tally! So, in the other 58 innings, he has scored a combined 1562 runs at an average of 29.47. Not really a record of a batsman who bats in the top 7 for his country is it? But Uncle Oyster, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting had slow starts to their test careers. What’s the comparison between the three? After the same number of test matches for Australia, here’s their respected careers at that point:
Stephen Rodger Waugh
54 innings, 10 Not Outs with 1889 runs at an average of 42.93. Tugga’s top score at this stage of his career was 177* against England in his career defining 1989 Ashes campaign. He scored three hundreds and thirteen fifties at this point.
Ricky Thomas Ponting
59 innings, 7 Not Outs with 2410 runs at an average of 46.34. Punter’s top score at this stage of his career was 197 against Pakistan after four consecutive ducks prior in the series. He scored seven hundreds and eleven fifties at this point.
Both Waugh and Ponting were dropped from the test team for indifferent form and were made to earn their spots back after stints playing Sheffield Shield for NSW and Tasmania respectively. Does Cameron Green need to accumulate the runs currency to not only rediscover his mojo but warrant his spot in the side? Will Beau Webster get an extended run replacing Green as the team’s all-rounder now? Who knows?! Whatever route the selectors take, there needs to be transparency with why selections were made and explain why certain players were not considered moving forwards.
Australia’s obsession with all-rounders is due the performances of Andrew Flintoff in the greatest Ashes series of all time in 2005 and Ben Stokes’ consistent brilliance against the Aussies since his debut. Does Cameron Green have those series winning displays of brilliance in him? As Muse famously sung back in 2003, Time is running out!
2024/25 border-gavaskar trophy.
who are india's danger men?
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Jasprit Bumrah
The biggest threat to the Aussies regaining the Border/Gavaskar Trophy is this man. Bumrah's test record is simply world class! His 159 test wickets have came at the miserly average of under 21 a piece and at a strike rate of a wicket every 45 balls.
The way Jasprit can generate pace from such run up is reminiscent of the great Wasim Akram. If he can dominate, the Aussies have no chance!
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Yashasvi Jaiswal
This young fella can bat! The Player of the Series against England earlier this year after topping the batting averages with 719 runs at an average of 89. The most impressive thing about his batting was how he was scoring at strike rate of 80 whilst smashing The Poms to all parts. Uncle Oyster loves left-handed batsmen too!
Yashasvi attacks the bowlers from the get go in an attempt to disrupt their line and length. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to Australian conditions during the series.
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virat kohli
King Kohli had to be on my list of Indian danger men for the upcoming Border/Gavaskar Trophy. He loves to stick i up the Aussies at every opportunity! You have to admire the way Virat bats when he's on song. His cover drive is sublime!Kohli has an amazing test record against the Aussies, particularly in Australia. Virat has scored 6 centuries down under and averages 54.
In the last test series in India back in 2023, Virat finally broke his 43 innings streak without a hundred against the Aussies at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
which aussies are the key to regaining the border-gavaskar trophy?
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USMAN KHAWAJA
Thank goodness Travis Head had a positive COVID-19 result before the Sydney Test in the 2021/22 Ashes series because Uzzy has amassed pver 2500 runs since his recall. Hundreds in overseas tours of Pakistan, India and England have saved the Aussies from humiliation time and time again.
Australia will be relying on Usman Khawaja to continue being the calming influence in an often brittle Aussie top 6. I would like to think that the pep talk I had with my old Two Blues team mate at Ian Healy Oval was the main reason for his success. You're welcome Australia!
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TRAVIS HEAD
Will the real Travis Head please stand up?! Which T, Head will decide to show up this series? Is it the one who hit the most scintillating, counter attacking 90 odd at The Gabbatoir against The Saffas on a green deck or the one who struggles in away test series?
When he's in the right mood, he can tear apart any bowling attack within a session and turn the advantages in Australia's favour. For Australia's sake, we need Travis Head to bat with the freedom to express himself in the best way he knows how. Playing his shots with gay abandon.
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CAMERON GREEN
Australia has an unhealthy obsession with finding an all-rounder to slot into the test team. Ever since Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff tore apart Australia in Ashes series twenty odd years apart, we've tried dozens of candidates to fill the void of a swashbuckling middle order batsman and a fourth seamer capable of bowling in excess of 140kph. Cameron Green is our 6'6 Great White Hope!
Cameron Green has the potential to be Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. His stroke play, particularly his off-drives, is exquisite. His fielding in the gully is superb and his bowling is improving with each spell. The sky is the limit with Cameron Green. The only question for the Aussies selectors is where is his best position in Australia's batting line-up?
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have been the mainstay of the Australian bowling cartel for over a decade. Alongside Nathan Lyon, these three fast bowlers have delivered for Australian when a breakthrough was desperately needed. With over 900 test wickets between them, is this 2024/25 summer going to be their last hurrah? The weight of the entire nation rests of this threesome’s shoulders. Nathan Lyon will obviously bowl a considerable amount of overs this series and is a vital piece of the puzzle too but Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc were the three bowlers alongside Lyon who couldn’t get the job done against an understrength Indian team during the SCG and Gabba Tests the last time India visited our shores.
Who will be the next cab off the rank if one of these three are injured or lose their killer instinct? Surely Jhye Richardson is the man to step up and lead the next generation of Aussie fast bowlers with the support of Lance Morris, Spencer Johnson and Fergus O’Neill. Sadly, I feel that the sun has set on the careers of Scott Boland and Michael Neser. I feel for Michael Neser in particular because every time he did bowl in test matches, he always bowled beautifully. Scott Boland was targeted during last year’s Ashes series by the Poms and he didn’t seem to have a Plan B when he was torn apart by the Pommies. We’ll always have his Boxing Day test heroics in 2021 to look fondly back on.
It is time to plan for the future without Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc. Much like great Aussie bowling attacks before them like McGrath, Gillespie and Lee and Johnson, Harris and Siddle, father time catches up with everyone eventually. Let’s hope that regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be the fitting way for this terrific trio of bowlers to sign off on their glittering careers.
WILL THis AGING aUSSIE BOWLING CARTEL be able to deliver the goods this upcoming test series?
WAS THE OYSTER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF USMAN KHAWAJA INTO AUSTRALIA’s BATTING SAVIOUR?
Did you know that Usman Khawaja and I were once team mates? Once upon a time I played grade cricket, unsuccessfully I may add, with Parramatta District Cricket Club. The year was 2001 and a 21 year old Oyster decided to finally give grade cricket a crack. After brief stints in 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade throughout the season, I realised that my childhood dreams of playing 1st Grade will be unfulfilled. It was during my stint in 4th Grade where I had Uzzy as a team mate.
He was just starting on his path towards the ultimate prize of playing test cricket for Australia. I on the other hand, had the stark realisation that I was rubbish! This picture was taken on the first day of the 2021/22 Ashes series. Usman was playing for Australia A at the time at nearby Ian Healy Oval. As we briefly chatted, I told him how we were once team mates. He politely said that he remembered me. Thanks for the white lie Uzzy!
Sorry readers, sometimes Uncle Oyster goes off on a different tangent. Soon after this photo was taken, Travis Head contracted COVID-19 before the Sydney Test. Usman was the replacement for Travis and scored centuries in both innings of the test, cementing his place in the Australian test side ever since.
During this time back in the test team, Usman has scored 2564 runs at an average of 53.4! Amassing 7 centuries and 12 half centuries over the 54 innings he’s batted. He has saved Australia several times in home and away series over the past three and bit years.
You’re welcome Australia!