Australia’s build-up to the home summer has hit another snag, with all-rounder Cameron Green ruled out of the three-match ODI series against India after pulling up with low-grade side soreness. Selectors have turned to Marnus Labuschagne, who will leave Adelaide once South Australia’s Sheffield Shield fixture ends on Saturday night and link up with the squad in Perth ahead of Sunday’s opener.
Green, 26, had only just resumed competitive bowling following back surgery last year. During Western Australia’s opening Shield clash with New South Wales he managed four of his scheduled eight overs before medical staff shut him down, wary of over-loading the back so soon after rehab. The plan had always been gradual: limited bowling in the first two India ODIs, then a stint in rounds three and four of the Shield – starting 28 October – to build red-ball volume for the Ashes.
That timetable is now on hold. Green felt discomfort after a training spell mid-week and, following scans, Cricket Australia’s medicos opted for a precautionary rest. The hope is that a short rehabilitation block will have him ready to face South Australia at the WACA in 11 days’ time.
“It’s obviously frustrating, but the medical team feel it’s the right call,” a subdued Green told WA staff on Friday morning. He did not front the media, leaving high-performance manager Ben Oliver to outline the situation: “Cam’s got a minor side strain. We’ll give him every chance to play the next Shield game, but we won’t rush it.”
Pat Cummins, already battling a hip complaint, admitted earlier in the week he was “less likely than likely” to feature in the first Ashes Test at Perth on 21 November. Green’s setback therefore deepens Australia’s seam-bowling concerns. Fellow fast-bowling all-rounder Beau Webster is yet to bowl a competitive over this season after rolling an ankle at training, though Tasmania expect him back for their 28 October Shield fixture.
Labuschagne’s recall feels almost routine these days. The right-hander has piled on early-season runs – twin fifties against Queensland last week and an unbeaten 142 against South Australia on Thursday – and offers part-time leg-spin should conditions dictate. His ODI pedigree is solid (42-match average 40.21), but the original plan had been to keep him in domestic cricket until the Ashes camp convened. Circumstances, once again, have shifted.
The rest of Australia’s white-ball side is already patched together. Cummins, still easing back, was never part of this series. Wicketkeeper Josh Inglis is unlikely before game two after tweaking a calf, while Adam Zampa remains in northern New South Wales with his pregnant wife and will miss the Perth opener. Alex Carey has been allowed to stay with South Australia to maximise Shield time, leaving just three first-choice members of Australia’s World Cup-winning XI certain to take the field on Sunday.
Coach Andrew McDonald preferred to look at the upside: “These are invaluable chances for players on the fringe to put their hands up. The schedule is tight, so we’ll need depth across the next six weeks.”
India, meanwhile, have arrived close to full strength, keen to fine-tune before their own home Test season. A lively Perth surface generally offers more pace and carry than most grounds on the subcontinent, so Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj should provide a stern examination for what is set to be a makeshift Australian top order.
Back home, Western Australia’s medical staff are cautiously optimistic about Green’s timeline. “A low-grade side strain usually means around ten days of modified loading,” team physio Nick Jones explained. “If Cam hits every marker along the way there’s no reason he can’t bowl in the next Shield round.”
Still, Australia’s broader vision is the Ashes, now barely five weeks away. Green’s value lies in the balance he brings – a genuine fourth seamer who can bat in the top six. Lose that, and the selectors may need to rethink their bowling workloads or tilt the balance towards a specialist batter.
For now, the focus shifts to Perth. Green sits out, Labuschagne flies in, and another Australian squad sheet gets hastily rewritten. It’s hardly ideal, yet there’s still time – just – for bodies and plans to settle before England arrive.
“Everyone’s dealing with little niggles this time of year,” Cummins said on Wednesday. “The key is making sure we’re fit when it really counts.”
