There was a time in the nineties and the 2000s where the word mighty was frequently associated with the Australian cricket team.
It was one thing to compete with them, but something quite other, something starkly different to emerge victorious when confronted by the Aussies.
To this day, we remember the dizzying exploits with the bat of the Waugh brothers and the quintuplet of Hayden, Ponting, Martyn, Gilchrist, and Lehmann.
On their own, any one of these batsmen of varied class and styles could simply destroy you.
Of course, the other big riddle to solve were the shining stars of a dazzling quartet comprising McGrath, Warne, Gillespie and Lee.
But in the later years, with the Waughs, Gillie’s, Warnie’s and McGrath’s having become a thing of the past, it wasn’t that the streak of Australian domination was over.
We saw the rise of names like Watson, Clarke, Hussey and Starc. Then at the same time, the Australians overloaded their competition with a bit much to handle with the rise to prominence of Symonds and later, handy all rounders like David Hussey. The 2010’s saw a very competitive Australian unit attacking their world class opponents with full gusto with the emergence and subsequent successes of all format heroes such as Mitchel Johnson.
T20I’s became a popular thing and one dayers and Tests began the long battle to stay relevant in an age where broadcasting rights and TRP’s became hot sellers, with TV finding increasing competition from the hand held devices. But somewhere, the famous, very known sense of quintessential Australian dominance began to wither away.
That was until world cricket began to adore three of their mega albeit new stars in Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitch Starc. And along with their rise came the meteoric rise of new names on the famous Aussie cricketing bandwagon in the form of Cummins and Hazlewood.
But in the contemporary fold of the game where we see Steve Smith doing commentary instead of playing the T20 World Cup and where Warner is but a few games away from his final international contest in an Australian jersey, the national firmament stands in dire need of new bustling names that can, once again, ensure that the Australian flag is fluttering with familiar might.
Source– Twitter
And a giver of hope to that direction is the arrival of Cameron Green.
For someone who’s played no more than 8 T20 internationals and just 25 one dayers for his Australian cricket team, Green’s been demonstrating a purple patch of sorts in the game where the last twelve months are concerned. The lanky right hander has been striking the white ball in the game’s shortest format at a strikingly good strike rate of 173.
In the 4 matches he’s played in this calendar year, Green’s managed a Test average of over 50 including a best score of 174 not out besides having scored roughly half of his 552 one day runs in the past twelve months.
What draws one to Cameron Green almost automatically is that despite being a naturally gifted hitter, someone whose dominant currency seems to be T20 cricket, not to forget its diverse, lucrative franchise options, the all rounder is committed to playing Test match cricket for his nation.
His handy medium pacers lend an effective and consistent fourth bowling option to what is already a power packed battery of bowlers comprising Starc, Zampa and Hazlewood.
Source– SBM cricket
Tall, agile and someone who’s unafraid to drag his body through the drudge or throw himself in the long and often draining outfields, Cameron Green is an excellent and durable fielder.
To a unit that looks naturally attacking on the surface, loaded with exponents of varying skill and talent of great magnitude, Cameron Green’s dexterity lends harmony to both disciplines of the game.
He’s a frequent wicket taker with 63 dismissals to his name, including Tests and ODI’s and he’s not even playing the sport he adores for even half a decade.
His ability to hit the ball a country mile, hold onto an end on his own and do damage from down the order offers heightened expectations to the team from Down Under.
Playing what is clearly his first proper T20 World Cup having just a solitary game from the 2022 edition to his name leaves Cameron Green, who’s already earned a player of the match in all three versions of Cricket, with mighty expectations.
And yet, at the same time his desire to excel and add to Australia’s ubiquity to the nature of dominating the sport will excite his fans, who are surely no longer just back home.
Here’s wishing the man who’s only just turned 25 a very happy birthday and a sparkling career ahead.