Green hopeful of Shield return and county cricket ahead of WTC final

Cameron Green is hopeful of playing some Sheffield Shield cricket for Western Australia before the end of the domestic summer and is eyeing off a stint in county cricket to get himself in the selection mix as a batter only for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's in June.

Green has not played since having back surgery in October after suffering a fifth stress fracture in his lower back during Australia's white-ball tour of the UK in September.

The 25-year-old underwent the same back surgery that many fast bowlers around the world have had including Jasprit Bumrah and WA and club teammate Jason Behrendorff, who he consulted with both before and after undergoing the procedure in Christchurch. Green also caught up with former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond while recovering in New Zealand, with Bond one of the first to undergo the radical procedure that includes having screws and a wire inserted into the spine.

Green's recovery is well ahead of schedule. He was back running in early January and has been batting for a number of weeks. He is not going to return to bowling until later in the year, well after the WTC final and the three-Test tour of the Caribbean, with the long-term aim to have him bowling without restrictions for the 2025-26 Ashes series which starts in late November.

From very early in the recovery phase there were hopes in Western Australia that Green could be fit to play a Shield game as a batter in late February or early match. While speaking at the Cricket Australia Awards on Monday night in Melbourne, after winning the Community Impact Award for his work with Kidney Health Australia, Green confirmed that he was eyeing a possible return in WA's final Shield game of the home and away season against Victoria at the WACA ground on March 15. WA is also in the mix to play in a fourth straight Shield final which begins on March 26.

He would need clearance from CA's medical staff to be approved to play in that game. Green has to have scans on his back at regular intervals post surgery to monitor his progression.

Beyond that, Green is understood to be open to a stint in county cricket in England prior to the WTC final. There are eight rounds of championship fixtures scheduled in April and May, the last of which begins on May 23 before the WTC final starts on June 11.

CA would only likely approve him for a short stint if a club was keen to sign him under those restrictions given he would not be capable of bowling.

Green's return to fitness will create a squeeze in Australia's top order. He made 174 not out batting at No.4 in his second last Test against New Zealand in March last year but Steve Smith has returned to No. 4 in style, scoring three centuries in his last four Test matches against India and Sri Lanka.

Travis Head is going to move back to No.5 for the WTC final despite opening in the series in Sri Lanka, and Head said he expected Sam Konstas to return to the top of the order for the WTC final after he was squeezed out of the XI in Galle. There will be pressure on Marnus Labuschagne at No. 3 while Australia may not need an allrounder in Beau Webster at No.6 for a one-off final at Lord's if conditions allow for four specialist bowlers to do all of the bowling.

Josh Inglis' century on debut in Galle has also created a headache for the selectors. He was picked specifically for his prowess against spin but he grew up in England and was Australia's spare batter for four of the five Tests against India during the home summer before injuring his calf while sub fielding in Melbourne.