An abdominal strain is set to keep West Australian all-rounder Cameron Green out of the first Test against South Africa.
Green injured himself playing a hook shot in the dead-rubber third one-day international against the Proteas last month and has been racing the clock to be fit since.
However, he did not feature in the touring party’s two-day warm-up clash in Potchefstroom and was not spotted training outside of minor physical conditioning.
Green has not been officially ruled out of the Kingsmead series opener, but evidence suggests he may be targeting the second or third Test to come back.
The 27-year-old has also been carrying a sore shoulder throughout the previous three series, which has hampered his bowling.
The current strain affects his ability with bat, ball and in the field, which will frustrate the Aussie selectors as they hunt a stable batting line-up against one of the world’s most devastating fast-bowling attacks outside of their own.
Green scored a Test century in a losing effort against Bangladesh in Darwin and was one of the best batters in that two-Test contest alongside Steve Smith.
Green’s injury blow could see a West Aussie teammate benefit, with spinning all-rounder Cooper Connolly moved firmly into the frame to play just his second Test after debuting in Sri Lanka early last year.
Keeper Sam Harper and 34-year-old Nic Maddinson were parachuted into the squad last week as injury cover, but picking the latter would be a bold call given he has not played Test cricket in more than a decade and red-ball cricket at all in 18 months.
In fact, The West Australian columnist and former Australian Test tearaway Mitchell Johnson called the selection overall “difficult to justify”.
“If Cam Green is unavailable, Matthew Renshaw or Cooper Connolly should remain ahead of Maddinson. They were included in the original squad and should have a clearer position in the selection order,” he wrote.
Connolly may need to wait until the playing surface is unveiled to learn whether he will play, with many expecting a spin-friendly surface in Durban that will suit his left-arm tweakers as well as his batting.
Green missing the Test also secures Beau Webster’s place in the team.
