Cameron Green uncertain for Australia’s second Test against South Africa

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has expressed uncertainty regarding Cameron Green’s availability for the second ICC World Test Championship match against South Africa, as the all-rounder continues to recover from an abdominal injury ahead of the game on Sunday in Gqeberha.

Green missed the first Test in Durban, where Australia secured a 214-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. His potential return had raised hopes of strengthening Australia’s batting line-up ahead of the second Test at St George’s Park.

However, McDonald stated that the 27-year-old must satisfy multiple fitness criteria before selection can be confirmed, leaving his participation in doubt as the team looks to build on its strong start.

“(Green’s) progressing well. He’s got a few things to go through in the next three, four days. He’ll progress (on) that and, on the back of a soft tissue injury, it can accelerate quite quickly,” McDonald said, according to the ICC website.

Australia also received a positive update on reserve wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, who missed the opening Test with a finger injury sustained during last month’s ODI series against South Africa. His recovery offers a potential boost to Australia’s selection choices for the second Test.

“Josh had a couple of hits during this Test match out the back of the nets during lunchtime, and that’s gone well,” McDonald said. “It’ll be more about the comfort with the splint and how that progresses. He’ll have bat versus ball sessions in PE (Gqeberha), and we’ll get more information there.”

Cooper Connolly could also be considered for selection after missing the first Test due to a head cold. His ability to offer a competent spin-bowling option may prove important, particularly since Green will not bowl in South Africa even if fit to play as a specialist batsman.

The positions of Nic Maddinson and Beau Webster remain undecided as Australia evaluates its options ahead of Sunday’s match. Head coach McDonald noted that captain Pat Cummins prefers maintaining flexibility within the batting order, leaving several selection decisions open as the tourists aim to extend their series lead.

“I suppose the external view on that is that you need specific orders at certain times and this person’s an opener, this person’s a middle-order player,” McDonald said. “I think we’re more open-minded than that. So we’ll assess what we need to do going to the next Test (playing on a) different surface, potentially, not sure what it sort of holds there, but in terms of where Renners (Matthew Renshaw) will bat, we’ll work through that leading into the next Test,” he added.

The Australia squad for the second Test includes Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Beau Webster.