Australia great Ricky Ponting has backed all-rounder Cameron Green to retain his No.3 spot for the upcoming Ashes series.
'Green might have silenced a few critics'
Green was promoted to No.3 for the first time in Test cricket during the World Test Championship final against South Africa last month. He scored four and zero as Australia lost, before then being dismissed for three & 15 in the first match of the Frank Worrell Trophy against West Indies.
Captain Pat Cummins backed the 26-year-old after the first Test though, saying Green was indeed a “long-term option” for the No.3 spot.
Green returned 26, 52, 46 and 42 in the next two Tests to finish as the third-highest scorer in a low-scoring West Indies series, behind teammates Travis Head (224) and Alex Carey (187).
“There was some talk about Cameron Green, if he was a long term No.3 three or not,” Ponting said on the ICC Review.
“(Green’s) second innings in the West Indies (in the last Test) might have just put some of that to bed. As tough as those conditions were, to bat for as long as he did in trying conditions, he might have silenced a few of those critics.”
Ponting also said he thought Australia would stick with their current top three of Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja and Green for the Ashes Down Under, which starts in November.
Ponting: Australia need to stick with Konstas for a period of time
Like Green, Konstas’s Test credentials have also been under the scanner. Ever since his swashbuckling 60 on debut, in which he took down India spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, he has struggled – not crossing 25 in nine innings since.
His returns in the West Indies series were particularly poor, with just 50 runs across six innings.
“I'm not going to make any really harsh judgment calls on Sam yet,” Ponting said. “Because it was hard work for every batter in that series, there's no doubt about it.
“I think they have to stick with him for a period of time and help him work through these deficiencies that he might have or might not have.
“If we get him back onto some flatter wickets at the start of the Australian summer and some Sheffield Shield matches under his belt, maybe he's got a great chance there to get some confidence back and get some runs under his belt. I'll back him in.”
Also read: West Indies T20 great retires from international cricket
The headache for Australia at this moment is the lack of options beyond their incumbent top three. Nathan McSweeney was trialled against India in December but has not played for Australia since, while Marnus Labuschagne had no real success at the top of the order either. After the West Indies series, head coach Andrew McDonald admitted that the top order was certainly “unsettled”.
Ponting made note of McSweeney, 14-Test old Matt Renshaw and the uncapped Jason Sangha as potential top-order options if they had a good start to the Sheffield Shield, which begins just before the Ashes.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
