Crisis in Australian Cricket: Steve Smith and Cameron Green Revisit Roles Amidst Injury Woes

News of Cameron Green's requisite withdrawal for the entire Test summer due to impending back surgery, closely followed by Steve Smith's surprising decision to relinquish his Test opener role, has cast a cloud over the 2024-25 Test summer in Australia. Smith's choice to move back into the middle-order, allowing a younger player to fill his shoes, and Green's unfortunate injury have turned the spotlight onto these two players. 

Now, the selectors face the challenge of filling the top-order void left by Smith, a situation made all the more difficult due to Green's six-month recovery timeline. Smith's decision to step down, according to chief selector George Bailey, was unfortunately coincidental with the happenstance of Green's injury. Bailey disclosed that discussions were being held between Smith, Pat Cummins, and Andrew McDonald about the former's desire to leave the opening position and return to the middle-order even prior to Green's injury.

Bailey also acknowledged the challenge of finding an opening partner for Usman Khawaja, with barely a month to go before the start of the series. In the 2020-21 series, this issue arose closer to the first test, when David Warner was injured. Last time, Matthew Wade and Joe Burns served as temporary openers, but it seems that this time, a specialist will be taking the pitch. Bailey hinted that Cam Bancroft and Marcus Harris might be likely choices, despite the hype surrounding 19-year-old Sam Konstas who recently scored twin centuries in the Sheffield Shield’s opening game. 

Bailey further added that Konstas' inclusion in the Australia A squad was a nod to his promising start, but it did not overshadow the consistent performances of Bancroft and Harris. He stressed that they had good squad depth despite the absence of Nic Maddinson, Matt Renshaw and Pete Handscomb.