Cape Town: Matt Renshaw batted against the brand new ball in the Newlands nets as Cameron Green prepared to return to the Australian team for the pivotal third Test after the “really bizarre” abdominal injury that hijacked his tour.
Green, who expressed a preference for batting Nos. 4 or 5 in the order but qualified this view by saying he was willing to bat anywhere for the team, also batted against a new ball in training on Saturday before continuing his return to the bowling crease with a centre-wicket spell. This week, however, he will play solely as a batsman.
The injury in the ODI series had come at an unfortunate time for Green, immediately after he had asserted himself with runs and a clear batting method against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay. He strained a side muscle, more commonly associated with tennis, while trying to play a hook shot shortly after he was struck on the box in Potchefstroom.
“It was really bizarre. I think there’s definitely a pretty clear link between getting hit and then doing the injury – I think it’s too much of a coincidence for them not to be related,” Green said. “I got hit where you don’t want to get hit, and then yeah, two balls later, I went to go just play a shot just behind the wicket.
“I had to lengthen my muscle, and I think my muscle was pretty keen to not move at that stage after I got hit. I think the stretching of the muscle … just had a tear through.
“My immediate thoughts were talking to the medical staff and seeing what they thought, how long the timeline would be. And it’s quite a unique injury. There’s not many people that have done the injury but then tried to play a few weeks later, so they didn’t have much to go off. So I just stayed around the group until I’d heard further, depending on how I was tracking. Luckily enough, it’s all good to go for the last game.”
Green’s last collision with South Africa in a Test match was at the 2025 World Test Championship final in London last year, where he made a duck and four batting at No.3 – a bruising encounter with Kagiso Rabada.
“It was a tough experience for sure,” Green said. “Pretty unique that you’re playing South Africa with the Dukes ball in England. I think there’s a lot of good learnings, a lot of tough learnings, but obviously they’re such a quality bowling line-up that you’ve got to be on your game at all times to succeed against them, regardless of where you bat.
“But certainly up the top of the order is incredibly difficult. I think because ... their opening bowlers … are so great with the new ball. So you’ve got to work really hard, especially at the start there.”
Asked about where he preferred to bat, Green pointed strongly to the middle-order positions currently occupied by Steve Smith and Renshaw.
“I’ve had a lot of experience up and down the order, and I think I’m well suited at four and five,” he said. “But obviously, we’ve had some pretty incredible cricketers bat in those positions, so I’m very happy to move up and down the order depending on what the team wants.
“I think ‘Ren’ batted beautifully through the middle order in Durban. The way he played spin in that game was unbelievable. I knew he was a good player of spin, but I didn’t realise he was that good.
“The way he played spin and his tempo were the two things that were so good to watch. Hopefully, I’ve learnt some pretty valuable lessons off that innings.”
Renshaw’s stint against the new ball was a strong indicator of his likely return to the top alongside Travis Head, after he batted at No.5 in the first two Tests. His second ball in the nets squirted of the edge as he played forward and flew through a gap in the netting, prompting him to call for repairs to ensure no one was seriously hurt by his cut shots.
Green, Renshaw, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser and Alex Carey were the participants at the optional training session, with the main tune-up scheduled for Sunday. Selection chair George Bailey was spotted speaking with Marnus Labuschagne at the team hotel earlier on Saturday.
“I think it’s a really consistent change room that [coach] Andrew McDonald makes,” Green said. “Regardless of if you win or lose, I think you try and keep a pretty clear and calm head.
“There’s obviously certain things that we would take out of that game (Gqeberha) that we know we didn’t do quite right, and but the mood’s really good, and I think we’re looking forward to putting on a good show in Cape Town.”
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