Making the most of his multiple reprieves, Australia all-rounder Cameron Green went on slam his maiden Test century on Day 2 of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India at Ahmedabad.
Featuring in his 20th Test, Green scored 114 off 170 balls and was involved in a 208-run partnership with Usman Khawaja (180) to propel the visitors to a massive 480/10 in their first innings.
Speaking after the second day’s play, Green said he now feels more like a Test cricketer with monkey off his back.
“You feel more like a Test cricketer when you’ve got that monkey off your back, so it is nice to tick that off in a way. It’s so special,” Green told reporters.
The 23-year-old got a few loose deliveries, especially from Umesh Yadav, which helped him quickly get into the 90s before he notched up the three-figure mark.
“I think I might have got a bit lucky, I got from 70, to 80, to 90 pretty quickly, so that probably helped a bit, not having too much time to think about it, that’s all.”
“It was really special, obviously (being 95) over the lunch break that 40 minutes felt like an hour and forty. But I was batting with Uzzy (Khawaja’s nickname). The whole time, there was experience at the other end and he was batting beautifully and that helps a lot,” Green said.
Having spent two years in international cricket, Cameron Green understands that it is important to make the opportunities count.
“It’s my 20th Test so I’ve had a good chance to see the ups and downs of Test cricket, see it for what it is. It’s an incredibly tough game, and when you get moments like that you really cherish them. So yeah I’ve seen how tough Test cricket is and I’m enjoying every second of it.”
Green had undergone finger surgery earlier this year, which forced him to miss the first two Tests against India.
“It’s really good. All the rehab and recovery I did over those few months has really helped get to where I am now. It’s been completely fine bowling, and batting there’s maybe a couple of the pull shots hurt for a split second, but completely fine now.”
The all-rounder was also grateful for Usman Khawaja’s presence at the crease alongside him.
“With Uzzy, he’s an experienced head that’s played Test cricket for more than 10 years now, he’s so valuable for guys like myself and a few of the young guys in the team the way he goes about it,” Green said.
“I’m trying to learn as much as I can off him, and luckily enough there are a lot of guys in the change rooms like that, you’ve got Travis Head, Marnus, Smudge, they’re all the best in the world at the moment, so I’m incredibly lucky I’ve got guys around like that,” he concluded.
(With PTI Inputs)
