Timing Could be Right to Include Cameron Green In Test Squad: Ricky Ponting

Former Australian captain and opening batsman Ricky Ponting has put his weight behind the inclusion of talented 20-year-old all-rounder Cameron Green in the country’s Test squad for their upcoming series against New Zealand.

Currently side-lined due to a back problem but due to make his comeback soon, Green can easily bowl over 140kmph, all the while registering scores like 87*, 121* and 126 in three of his last five innings in the Sheffield Shield. And while Ponting said that Green’s inclusion would be a “left-field decision”, he is confident that he would benefit from being around the seniors in the team.

“Cameron Green is probably the in-form batsman in the country,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.

“It’d be a pretty left-field decision to make because he’s been batting so low for WA. But he’s not doing much wrong, he’s an exciting talent, and maybe to just include him and have him around the squad and give him a taste of what it’s like might not be a bad thing.

“He’s very young and very raw, but what he’s doing in Shield cricket suggests there’s a whole lot of talent there with both bat and ball.

“He’s someone we’ve got to keep an eye on for the next couple of years, and if we can fast-track him and get him into the set-up sooner rather than later, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“The timing could be right. I know there’s a great vibe around the team, the leadership side of things is really strong and culturally it’s really strong. So to introduce someone new like that, a young guy, it would be a good time.”

Ponting tipped Green to take Cameron Bancroft’s place in the squad, who has endured a poor run of form of late.

“I think Bancroft needs to have an extended run at some Shield cricket and try and work some deficiencies out,” Ponting said.

“There’s obviously something technically wrong there that he’s got to work on.

“I know he has been working hard on his game because I watched him up close and personal during the Ashes, but there’s obviously some other things that are going wrong.”