Cameron Green left speechless after being dubbed the best batting talent since Ricky Ponting

Australia’s next big thing Cameron Green says being declared the best batting talent since Ricky Ponting is ‘just hype’.

Cameron Green celebrates scoring a century for Western Australia. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

Being compared to the great Ricky Ponting leaves young gun Cameron Green lost for words.

The 21-year-old West Australian all-rounder is moving closer to a Test debut after being named in Australia’s 17-man squad for the four-match series against India starting next month in Adelaide.

Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said both Green and Victorian run-machine Will Pucovski “demanded” inclusion in the extended squad.

Green’s emergence, particularly with the bat, has been so good that former Test captain Greg Chappell said Green was “the best batting talent since Ricky Ponting”.

It has put an immediate expectation on Green, and it’s pressure that he’s not entirely comfortable with.

“It’s obviously really nice words to hear, but to be fair those words are sometimes just words,” he said.

“It’s all just hype. I haven’t got much there for you sorry.”

Green said it was a great time in Australian cricket to have the likes of him and Pucovski included in Test selection conversation.

“It’s an already an incredible Australian team to break into at the moment, and to have even more talent knocking on the door, it’s incredibly exciting,” he said.

“I’m incredibly grateful to be given the opportunity to be in this squad.

“As a young kid you want to always play for Australia, so to get this opportunity just to be in the squad, I hope I just gain a lot of experience from that.”

Cameron Green and Will Pucovski headline a list of five uncapped players in an extended 17-man Australian Test squad @alintaenergy | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/OiMqyA8yid

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 12, 2020

Green was also named in a 19-man Australia “A” squad for two matches – one of which will involve some Test players – for matches against India.

He was also selected last month in Australia’s 18-strong squad for upcoming one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches, also against India.

Bound to get a chance during the six white-ball contests, Green is relishing the prospect of bowling his right-arm seamers to Indian batting legend Virat Kohli.

“You always want to verse the best players in the world, and he’s definitely up there, if not at the top,” he said.

“A few guys in the squad have bowled to him and they said they found it so much fun, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Green bowling loads will be managed throughout the summer after he suffered stress fractures in his back less than a year ago.

“It’s just going to be a slow process back to full fitness,” he said.

“We’ll slowly work up the workloads but my back and my body feel really good at the moment.

“I had 12 overs each (Sheffield Shield) game for the last two games to see how I pull up. It’s just positive signs.”

Originally published as Cameron Green left speechless after being dubbed the best batting talent since Ricky Ponting