Nagpur: Australia risk getting a diluted version of Cameron Green if he returns this week, as the visitors were dealt a scheduling double whammy after the third Test was moved to one of India’s fortresses.
All-rounder Green on Monday stepped up his preparation for the second Test, batting, fielding and bowling at an optional training session at VCA Stadium, but doubts remain over his availability for the game starting Friday in Delhi.
Cameron Green bowls during a training session at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground. Credit:Getty Images
Though he is bowling at top pace and catching with relative comfort, how Green’s injured middle finger copes against fast bowling later this week will be a major factor in whether he returns to the XI.
If he does play in Delhi, there will be question marks over his capacity to field in his usual position of gully, where he has impressed with his catching and sharp saves, while coaches will also be wary of dramatic increases in his bowling workloads.
It is hard to see Australia blooding Matthew Kuhnemann as a third front-line spinner without Green being there to provide skipper Pat Cummins a second seam option.
Green’s teammates at the top of the order, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and the axed Travis Head, were put through a trying spin examination during centre-wicket practice.
None appeared comfortable facing Ashton Agar, coach Daniel Vettori’s throwdowns and a pair of net bowlers picked for their likeness to Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, though the pitch was considered by players to be more treacherous than the Test strip. One delivery from Agar spat up from a good length over Khawaja’s head.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Monday that the third Test, initially slated to be held in Dharamshala, would be played in Indore. The hosts have a formidable record at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, where they have lost just once in 11 matches across all formats in the venue’s 17-year international history.
The ground has hosted two Tests, both resulting in massive wins for India. Though fast bowling was important in India’s last Test victory there against pace-wary Bangladesh in 2019, spin was the centrepiece of their victory over New Zealand in 2016.
On that occasion, 22 of the 25 wickets taken by bowlers fell to spin, including 13 for spin wizard Ashwin, who wrecked Australia’s second innings in Nagpur.
The cold weather in Dharamshala, where temperatures dip into single digits at night, would have made it difficult for curators to cultivate a dry, spin-friendly surface.
In the decider there in 2017, speedster Umesh Yadav turned the game India’s way with a new-ball burst. Then-captain Steve Smith wrote favourably of the pitch in his autobiography released later that year, saying the pitch had pace and bounce and was the “best pitch of the lot”.
The BCCI said the match was moved from Dharamsala because of concerns over the state of the outfield, which was relaid last year to fit in a new drainage system. Recent fog in the town, located at an altitude of 1451 metres and where temperatures regularly drop in February, meant there had been insufficient sunlight for grass to grow.
“Owing to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
Paceman Scott Boland is expected to make way for senior quick Mitchell Starc in Delhi, although he formed a strong case for retention after an impressive, though wicketless, outing in the first Test in difficult conditions for the seamers.
Australia were at their most threatening when Boland bowled in tandem with Todd Murphy, who prospered from the Victorian cult figure’s miserliness to snare seven wickets on debut.
Boland knows three fast bowlers will not fit into two berths and as impressive as his 28 wickets at 13 has been it is no match for the record of a 300-club member.
“I felt like I bowled well, but when you are bringing in someone like Mitchell Starc, who is a gun in these conditions and has bowled really well in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, hopefully I made the selectors’ job a little bit tougher than what it originally was,” Boland said.
“Obviously I want to play. I enjoyed the challenge of bowling in these different conditions. I’ve just got to make the selectors’ job as hard as I can to bring someone in.
“I don’t think we’re going to play three fast bowlers. There’s only going to be two spots up for grabs, I reckon.”
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