Australia selectors’ biggest batting headache comes in the form of Cameron Green

As Steve Smith’s push to replace David Warner at the top of the order gains momentum, Australia’s selectors turn their attention to solving the Cameron Green puzzle.

Australia’s selectors have one key thought for the post-David Warner era: get Cameron Green in the team.

How that is done is the million dollar question.

Although specialist opening option Marcus Harris is still in the frame - with selectors yet to make a decision on who the new Test opener will be - Harris getting picked would rely on the panel being unable to find a solution to fitting Green into their top six jigsaw puzzle.

Selectors believe allrounder Green – 12th man through the Pakistan series – is the next best batsman in the country, with his average of 60 batting at No.4 in first-class cricket.

So how to get him in?

One option is Green simply slots straight into an untried position opening the batting as Warner’s direct replacement.

The other is to move Marnus Labuschagne up to open – something he doesn’t necessarily want to do, but would do for the team.

In that scenario, Steve Smith could return to his favourite spot at No.3 and Green can be the new No.4.

There is also some support for Smith to move up to open, primarily because he is so keen to do it.

Smith had pushed his case to be Warner’s replacement as Test opener with selectors before he made the idea public.

But Australian coach Andrew McDonald says what the former captain offers at first or second drop must be taken into account before moving one of the nation’s all-time greats into an unfamiliar role as he enters the twilight of a glittering career.

Though competitive at stages, Pakistan was cast aside 3-0, shifting attention to the series against the West Indies, who on paper should offer even less competition.

David Warner has played his final Test. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

With the first Test against the Windies beginning in Adelaide on January 17, Cricket Australia has indicated it will announce the squad for that match on Tuesday.

The only serious question is who will replace the retiring Warner.

Smith set tongues wagging when he told the ABC during the Sydney Test that he was keen to move from No. 4 to partner Usman Khawaja in a shift that would allow all-rounder Green back into the side.

Though Smith’s comments may have come as a surprise to the public, they were not unexpected according to McDonald, who said that Smith had been canvassing support for a move in recent weeks.

“He’s mentioned it throughout the last couple of weeks. So yeah, he’s put his view forward. Consider all options,” McDonald, a selector along with George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide, said.

Smith’s willingness to move up the order, perhaps as a circuit-breaker to end his middling form, would in one respect solve a problem for Australia given the supposed reluctance of Travis Head, Mitch Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne to move from their respective roles.

But McDonald said it wasn’t necessarily that simple.

“He made those public so we’ll consider all options. So it’s nice to have him putting his hand up. I think there’s a few others that weren’t putting their hand up. Steve at three or four is pretty appetising also. So you’ve got to make sure you’re not removing the strengths of the team in the search to fill a gap also. So there’s a balance within that,” McDonald said.

“There’s many different ways to play as an opener. We’ve been lucky in having David Warner. Sometimes people that play that way aren’t exactly replaceable.

Cameron Green has been stuck on the bench because of the current middle order logjam. (Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

There’s not another David Warner out there. And it was fantastic to see the way and the intent that he played with (in the SCG run chase against Pakistan), small and tricky run chase, that was it wasn’t easy, but the ability to put pressure back onto the bowler. It was a joy to watch in his final innings. So yeah, I mean, that’ll be considered in terms of what we look for in an opener. But it’s more so what we look for in the top seven batters. So you can have complementary skill sets within that and how they operate and function because no doubt you want some players within that order that are able to put pressure back on the bowler, and we’ve seen Travis Head do that with great success in the last 12 months or so.”

While the batting lineup must change, the bowling is likely to remain the same for the first Windies Test, with McDonald suggesting that frontline quicks Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc should all be available for the Adelaide clash.

Steve Smith has made it clear he’d be happy to open. Picture: Tom Parrish

“I think in the background, we sort of plan for five-day Test matches. And if we were to go five days, and it’s going to put immense stresses and strain onto the bowling and I think we got not lucky. But in the first Test match in Perth where it was a shortened second innings for the bowling unit, that gives you the flexibility to be able to then push them a little bit harder throughout the Pakistan series. And we’ve always said that we plan in the background, the players want to play every Test match, it’s really important. We want to pick the best Test team that we can at any particular time. So it’s just striking that balance in how many games they can play without compromising their long-term futures,” McDonald said.

“So there’s nothing to indicate that they’ll need a rest. And we’ve got a bit of a gap to the first West Indies Test match. So I could see a pretty much unchanged bowling lineup.”

Originally published as Australia selectors’ biggest batting headache comes in the form of Cameron Green