Cameron Green is seen as the golden boy of the current Australia cricket squad. He is seen as the leader into the next generation of baggy green players.
As such, he's been given numerous chances in all formats of the game. Despite the chances given, he has failed to fulfil his destiny - with both bat and bowl. There have been calls to drop him from the squad.
Cameron Green is fast becoming one of Australian cricket's whipping boys, as his form slump continues beyond the Ashes and into the T20 World Cup.
The 26-year-old only made 171 runs against England at an average of 24.43 and took four wickets from 62 overs bowled.
Now, at the T20 World Cup, he made a combined total of three runs in Australia's shock losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. He additionally wasn't called upon to bat in their consolation win over Oman.
Former Australian opener, Simon Katich, believes Green's batting has been exposed on a technical level this summer.
When asked by cricket commentator, Gerard Whateley, if Green is "fast becoming the whipping boy of Australian cricket," Katich found it hard to disagree.
"It's a good question. He got through the summer by the skin of his teeth," Katich told SEN. "Obviously Beau Webster came in right at the end at the SCG and once again grabbed his opportunity and that extra bit of experience shone through."
"Cameron Green, it's probably where his game is at. That's the big question for me. We analysed it to death during the Test summer and technically there are some issues with his game and until he rectifies those with his footwork, he's probably going to continue getting exposed under different conditions under pressure."
"The challenge for him as a big tall lad is how he's going to get better against spin because use of the feet and I saw it first-hand in Pakistan, a lot of the Aussie batters got exposed because they don't want to use their feet...this is the challenge for Green moving forward, more importantly with Test cricket."
"There's a lot of Test cricket coming up in the next 12 months. There's massive pressure on his spot with what Webster has done and with the rest of the Shield season coming up, there'll be a number of players who will put their hand up for that spot."
Katich knows what it's like to be an Aussie batsman in the pressure cooker. During the 2005 Ashes, he averaged 27.55 across the five Tests in England. He lost his spot in the XI in the aftermath but admits it was the best thing for him in and allowed him to regain his confidence at Sheffield Shield level.
"Those of us who have been in this very situation where you're under the pump, you haven't made the most of your opportunities, I lived it myself during the 2005 Ashes mate, I can speak about it as well as anyone," Katich said.
"Sometimes you just need to get out of the pressure cooker, from experience. Get back, get your game in order at the level below, and then earn the right to get back into the team.
"That's what I had to go through and that didn't do me any harm. That's potentially what Green has to do. He hasn't made the most of his opportunities in the last few months.
"Sometimes the best thing that can happen is to get away from it all, go back to the level below and make the most of your opportunities and then earn your spot back."
Sometimes what happens when you have amazing stars who consistently win you games, they cover the hairline-cracks that are emerging within the team. A certain player may not be performing well but is carried within the team because of their talent.
Every champion side has had to learn to rebuild and win without these legends to call upon, but it does require other players to step up and it requires a strong selection committee to hold these players accountable.
Players like Cameron Green now need to step up and establish their own identify without the big names next to them.
When Steve Smith strides to the crease in Balagolla on Saturday morning, Australiaâs kit bags and suitcases will already be packed, their flight tickets home from a diabolical failure confirmed.
Greenâs position within the Australian Test team was hotly debated throughout the summer. However, when you look a little deeper, across all the formats for Australia, his last big score came against South Africa in August 2025 (118).
In the shortest format, his recent scores of 3, 0, 21, 22, 35 and 36 just wonât cut it. He holds the key position at number 3 and it is now time that he starts producing.
Further afield, nor can it be said that Smith or any of his team-mates are now guaranteed a crack in the five-ring circus that is the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, given their slumping T20 stocks.
There is water to go under the bridge with the qualifying clauses not yet confirmed but recent pointers would suggest Australia is in peril given a ranking slide from No.3 at the end of the tournament is certain.
What is known is that only six nations, including hosts America, will front in the LA Games and Australia could scarcely complain if overlooked having failed to qualify for the Super 8s.
At the very least, they will have to improve sharply to earn a spot in the six, let alone contend for a gold medal in the city of angels. A miracle might well be needed for Smith to live out an Olympic dream he said last month would be "pretty cool."
Not yet articulated, but also certain, is a reset of the current T20 squad, for Australiaâs coaching and selection hierarchy have made it clear it works in cycles targeted around big events like the World Cup.
This was a point made by coach, Andrew McDonald, after Australia surrendered the World Test Championship at Lordâs last June. That campaign was not a failure, despite the loss. They made it to the final on sustained excellence.
Steve Smith was effusive in praise of Cameron Greenâs skills when handing out a debut cap to the 21-year-old all-rounder in Canberra five years ago. He was right. Green was indeed ready for this. Since then, he has become an Australia regular across formats and one of the most sought-after cricketers in the world, as evidenced by his record-breaking IPL deal a few days back.
However, as promising as Greenâs career trajectory has been, thereâs a sense of underachievement 37 Tests into his career, given the kind of hype he burst onto the scene with. He hasnât failed, but he hasnât dominated either.
By the end of the second dayâs play in the third Ashes Test at Adelaide, Green averages 33.34 with the bat and 36.18 with the ball. Respectable but not frightening numbers - a sharp contrast to what he put up when coming through the ranks.
Before his Test debut, Green averaged 55.41 with the bat and 21.72 with the ball in first-class cricket. While a record like that would've been unsustainable in the long run even at first-class level, let alone Test cricket, the drop in his average difference (batting average - bowling average) from +33.69 to -2.84 has been massive, raising the question whether heâs now closer to being a very good bits-and-pieces cricketer, than a generational, genuine all-rounder.
The Adelaide Test match was Greenâs 35th. A zoomed-out comparison with the records of some of the best seam-bowling all-rounders of the game at the same stage in their careers adds to perception that Green might not be at the same elite level as them yet.
Ben Stokes, one of the best in the business - also aged 26 after 35 Tests - had almost 500 more runs and 50 more wickets than Green at that stage. His averages were only marginally better than Greenâs (34.19 vs 33.34 and 34.46 vs 36.18), but Stokes had put in many more memorable performances by then. His five hundreds and three five-wicket hauls overshadow Greenâs two tons and one five-for by a distance.
Jacques Kallis, arguably the greatest cricketer ever, was already a beast by the time he played his 35th Test match, averaging 42.08 with the bat and 28.52 with the ball. Kapil Dev, who was only 22 when he played his 35th Test, averaged 27.85 and 27.75 with the bat and ball, respectively. Even someone like Shane Watson, whoâs recognised more for his white-ball exploits than red, had markedly better numbers than Green at the 35-Test mark, averaging 37.54 with 20 fifty-plus scores and 28.91 with three five-wicket hauls.
Raw averages donât always tell the complete story, especially in the case of all-rounders.
In his 59 Test innings so far, Green has batted in the top five 17 times, which should become 18 by the end of the Adelaide Test. Unless your name is Jacques Kallis, batting in the top five, let alone top three, as a seam-bowling all-rounder is rare, particularly if youâre early into your Test career. Only Kallis (49 innings) and Watson (51 innings) batted in the top five more often than Green in their first 35 Tests.
While the primary reason Green has been tried out in the top order is that Australia consider him good enough to bat there, another significant factor that has facilitated this move is his injury issues.
Even before making his Test debut, Green had suffered three stress fractures of the back, which have recurred during his international career, forcing him to undergo spine surgery in October 2024. Naturally, this has restricted his bowling workloads, which have been carefully managed since he was a teenager.
Reduced bowling output has allowed Green to bat higher up in the order, which has presented its own challenge. The three-Test series against the West Indies last year, where Green batted at three, saw a combined batting average of 17.68, one of the lowest in a Test series ever. Green held his own, making crucial contributions and ending up as the third-highest scorer of the series.
What has hurt Greenâs stature the most is his batting record in Australia and England, where he has a combined average of 25.56 and has made only four fifties and no hundreds in 36 innings. Thereâs no real reason for why that canât improve. He has the raw materials and the technique to score tough and big runs, as his recent exploits in the West Indies, and the heroic 174* at Wellington when no other Australian batter went past 40, suggest.
With the ball, Green has picked up an average of only 1.02 wickets per Test, which doesnât help his reputation of being a genuine, world-class all-rounder. That has largely been due to him not being able to bowl enough, rather than due to his bowling not being threatening enough.
Alongside raw numbers, what has shaped the perception of Greenâs underachievement is the absence of defining performances on the biggest stages. The players he is often compared with had already begun to bend marquee games to their will by the 35-Test mark. Green, by contrast, has had fewer opportunities to bowl long spells or bat with complete freedom and clarity when the stakes were highest and fewer moments that have come to define series. That doesnât necessarily mean he lacks the temperament for big occasions, but it does explain why his impact has felt more muted than his ability suggests.
When Steve Smith handed Cameron Green his debut cap, he spoke of skills that âcanât be bought on a shelfâ. Those skills are only maturing, even if the numbers havenât yet caught up to the promise. Green hasnât underachieved so much as he has been shaped by circumstance - injuries, conditions and role compromises. Thirty-five Tests is a meaningful sample, but it is not a verdict. The next 35, though, will be.
Leading cricket reporter Bharat Sundaresan has suggested Cameron Green might need a short 'break' from the game ahead of his campaign with the Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL. Green was a part of Australia's abysmal T20 World Cup campaign, which saw them crash out of the group stage.
Two heavy defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka saw Australia ultimately knocked out and plenty of attention has turned on the selectors. Aussie great, Mark Waugh, took aim at the selectors for leaving Steve Smith out of the initial World Cup squad, despite his form in the BBL.
The decision to drop Matt Renshaw for the crucial Sri Lanka match, after top scoring in the previous game, raised eyebrows. Unfortunately, a number of out-of-form batters also struggled during the tournament.
Glenn Maxwell struggled in this year's BBL series, but was given a platform in the green and gold. His tournament never really got going. Another star who has struggled at the World Cup and across the last few months is Green.
The all-rounder came under immense pressure during the Ashes, having top scored with 45 runs across the entire series. Unfortunately, his confidence appears low with his white ball form not getting any better.
Green got a number of starts in the group stage but in the two biggest games was dismissed for a duck and three. Against Sri Lanka, he came in at 104-1 but wasn't able to build on Australia's momentum in a must-win game.
Cricket commentator, Sundaresan, feels the 26-year-old is low on confidence after the scrutiny of the Ashes. "After leaving Smith and Renshaw out they had to win, especially with the batsmen they stuck with, Cam Green in particular had to come off," Sundaresan told SEN Radio on Wednesday.
"I think we need to talk about Cam Green. He's the giant green elephant in the room, if you want to call him that. Think of the white ball form he had that led to his big price in the IPL auction. Something's up with his confidence. Something's gone off after the Ashes. Itâs had a big impact on him and you can see it."
Green was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a record 252 million rupees (AU$4.17 million) in the IPL. Green will receive around $2.98 million of this purchase. The all-rounder has already proved his worth in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians and was rewarded for this in the 2026 auction.
Although Sundaresan feels the franchise might be slightly concerned with his dip in form ahead of the tournament and might even call for the Aussie to come over early. The IPL doesn't start until the end of March, but there is still domestic cricket going on. And Sundaresan claimed Green could do with some time off before facing more scrutiny that comes with being the record purchase in the IPL.
âIf you are the Kolkata Knight Riders who paid that big sum for Cam Green, you're going, âHang on, we need to have a week with Cam Green before the IPL startsâ," Sundaresan said. "Unlike international cricket where games are spread out and tournaments are spread out, the IPL is intense. Itâs one, two or three games a week and the scrutiny is more. Cam Green, I don't know, maybe needs a break from cricket."
Former Aussie great, Glenn McGrath, has raised questions about all-rounder Cameron Green's selection over Steve Smith in the squad after Australia suffered an embarrassing exit from the T20 World Cup 2026 in the group stage. Green was preferred on the side due to his all-around abilities but he failed with the bat as he scored just 24 runs in three matches.
Green hit 21 runs in the first match but in the two biggest games was dismissed for a duck and three. He has bowled only seven deliveries in Australia's three matches so far, which raised questions about his selection.
"If he's not bowling, then what the selectors are saying is that he's a better player than Steve Smith. I just can't see how he justifies a spot in that side,â"McGrath was quoted by the Sunday Morning Herald.
Australia came into the tournament as the favourites but injury problems before the start of the tournament and poor performance in the group stage matches led to their early exit.
After winning the first match against Ireland, the 2021 champions lost back-to-back matches against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and the former champions ultimately missed out on a place after Zimbabwe picked up key points in their washout against Ireland.
Commenting on the early exit, McGrath said that the aura of the Australian team has gone, and the result is not surprising at all. "We said at the start of this World Cup that we were concerned about Australia. All of a sudden, the aura of that Australian team is no longer there when other teams play it. Unfortunately, it's not surprising," he said.
Another former Aussie star, Jason Gillespie, also questioned Green and Cooper Connolly's selection in the team after a poor stint in the World Cup.
"Cooper Connolly and I think to a lesser extent Cameron Green, they're just not repaying the absolute faith that has been given," he said.
"If he's not bowling, then what the selectors are saying is that he's a better player than Steve Smith. I just can't see how he justifies a spot in that side," McGrath was quoted by the Sunday Morning Herald.
At the start of this World Cup that we were concerned about Australia. All of a sudden, the aura of that Australian team is no longer there when other teams play it. Unfortunately, it's not surprising," he said.
ICC Hall of Famer, Ricky Ponting, has provided his assessment of where Cameron Green stands in his young international career.
The tall all-rounder has had an under par Ashes series, which Australia have already clinched after the first three Tests. In the Ashes Tests, Green has returned 171 runs and has picked up just four wickets, albeit getting limited time with the ball.
Ponting acknowledged that, despite Greenâs growing experience, his overall impact in Test cricket is still difficult to quantify.
"Itâs actually quite hard to get a gauge on him yet as an international player," Ponting said of Green to Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review. "He averages under 30 in Australia now. His career averages just over 30."
"Heâs made two Test match hundreds in 30-odd Test matches. Heâs had back surgery, and his bowling pace is probably not quite what it was 12 months ago."
Green has taken part in 37 Tests since his debut against India in Adelaide five years ago. His returns have been decent, with the right-hand batter chipping in with 1 736 runs at an average of 32.75, while also grabbing 39 wickets.
Even so, Ponting was emphatic that Greenâs blend of skills continues to set him apart, pointing to moments that underline his potential in the Baggy Green.
Green made his maiden Test ton in Ahmedabad, scoring 114 after coming in at a tricky situation against India, while his best effort followed a year later in March 2024, when he smashed an unbeaten 174* in Wellington to guide the Aussies to a big 172-run win.
Beyond some individual performances, Ponting highlighted the value Green brings within the Australian dressing room, while identifying consistency of method as the key challenge ahead.
"Talking to the players, talking to the coaching staff, they absolutely love what he brings to the group," Ponting noted. "The biggest challenge he has is, heâs just got to find out the right way and right style for him to play, work out whatâs going to work for him, and then commit to that and stick to it for a long period of time."
Ponting suggested that Greenâs tendency to constantly search for solutions can sometimes complicate that process, offering straightforward advice instead.
"Apparently, heâs a very deep thinker about his own game and likes to tinker with things a lot," Ponting said. "But if I had some advice for him, itâd be just keep things as simple as you can, think about what youâve done at domestic cricket and take your domestic game to the Test match and back it in for a while."
"I think that theyâve almost come too far with Cameron Green now. Thirty-odd Test matches. I think theyâll stick with him and try to find a way to get the best out of him⌠I think itâs about him being exposed at the highest level and finding a way to make it work at Test level thatâs going to make him a better player."
Australia faces an absolute gauntlet of Test cricket across the back-end of 2026 and start of 2027 and Green will have to be up for the task.
They play two tests against Bangladesh in August, three in South Africa, four against New Zealand, five in India and then one against England, all between August and March.
All before another five-test Ashes tour of England later in 2027.
I've been put off by Cameron Green for quite a while now. He isn't performing at a level that deems sufficient to put on the baggy green. He needs to step aside and allow others to get a chance.
Golden boys shouldn't always be picked because of their potential. Not all succeed. If Green's trajectory doesn't improve, a new golden boy should be identified and slowly moulded into the "perfect" player that Australia need, desire and deserve.