Australia all-rounder Cameron Green repaid the selectors’ faith by scoring a century in his first County Championship match after being included in the World Test Championship final squad.
Green was named in Australia’s squad for the WTC final against South Africa, marking his Test return after the New Zealand tour in March 2024. Despite playing in the ODI series against England last year, a lower back stress fracture sidelined him for the next six months.
Making his first-class comeback after 13 months, Green started his County Championship stint for Gloucestershire with a century against Kent last month. However, he had to retire hurt shortly after celebrating the milestone due to cramping. From the highs of that knock, his form dipped as he made four consecutive single-digit scores.
Green bounced back to form with another hundred in his fourth match of the season, once again against Kent.
Reduced to 139-4 in reply to Kent’s first-innings score of 424, Gloucestershire were rescued by Green’s century, as he forged a solid fifth-wicket partnership of 222 with James Bracey. Their stand guided the team to 307-4 by stumps on day two, trailing by just 117 runs. Resuming on day three, Green was dismissed for a 184-ball 128, while Bracey scored 127 off 192. Both hit 17 fours and a six each, helping Gloucestershire go past Kent's first-innings total to take a lead.
Match 52, Gloucestershire vs Kent
vs
- Ball by ball Over
CLOSE | Gloucestershire close Day 2 on 307/4, trailing by 117.
— Gloucestershire Cricket 🏆 (@Gloscricket) May 17, 2025
An great evening session by the Shire! Green (102*) and Bracey (69*) dominating proceedings.#BecomeGlorious pic.twitter.com/wjSYsiFpxx
Green reveals emotions behind heroic rescue act
"It was amazing. I definitely wanted a good score in front of the fans. They've come out in force in the two games I've been here, and I'd never really experienced chanting of my name before, so that was awesome to experience. A really cool moment," Green was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.
"I feel sorry, in a way, for doing it against the same opposition. But you take them when they come. We played a couple of shots, the crowd got up, and you felt like you were really on top of them," he added.
Both of Green’s tons in the County Championship have come at No.5, but there's a good chance he could bat at three in the WTC final with Marnus Labuschagne opening alongside Usman Khawaja. Labuschagne’s county stint, however, got off to a wobbly start as he was dismissed for a duck in his first outing of the season for Glamorgan against Northamptonshire.
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