New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) Australia have been dealt a huge blow ahead of the opening Test against South Africa, with head coach Andrew McDonald confirming that Cameron Green will miss the first match of the series at Kingsmead, Durban.

Green sustained an abdominal strain while playing a hook shot during the third ODI against South Africa and has been racing against time to regain full fitness. He was absent from Australia’s two-day warm-up fixture in Potchefstroom and has been restricted to minor physical conditioning work on the sidelines.

Speaking ahead of Australia’s first full training session at Kingsmead, McDonald said Green was progressing well but would not be available for the Durban Test. “He’s progressing pretty well, all things considered. He’s still here for a reason, so there is some light at the end of the tunnel. It’ll just be a matter of going through the rehab,” McDonald said, as quoted by Cricinfo.

“He’s got a pretty demanding week as he reintroduces a few activities, and you’ll see that probably play out in the net situation and during lunchtime, in and around the game. It’s a bit of an unknown, but there’s still optimism that he will take part in the series at some point,” he added.

Green’s absence is a significant setback for Australia, particularly with the 27-year-old having been in fine form with the bat. He scored a Test century against Bangladesh in Darwin and emerged as one of the standout batters in the series alongside Steve Smith.

He had also been Australia’s leading run-scorer in the ODI series against Bangladesh in August and appeared to have settled into the No. 5 position after being shuffled around during last season’s Ashes.

“It was great to see him sort of bounce back after last summer, and sometimes that’s the moment when players do start to really believe in themselves. I mean, we continually believe in our players and trust what they’ve got, but sometimes that sort of internal belief and trust in their games doesn’t shine through until they have that sort of breakthrough moment," McDonald said.

“We felt like that was it for Cam, in terms of breaking through. Now he’s got a rehab to go through, but he’s a quality player,” he added.

Green’s latest injury is particularly frustrating for Australia after he had also been managing a sore shoulder during the recent ODI series, which limited his bowling workload.

McDonald said the team would not rush Green back as a bowler, with his return likely to focus solely on his batting.

“That’s highly unlikely. I think with where he was with his shoulder injury, he missed a fair bit of work there. We’d be solely focused on getting him to return as a batter. We wouldn’t be putting that demand on him to return as a bowler. I think that would be too high a risk, as the information that I have,” he said.

Green’s absence also affects Australia’s balance, although McDonald believes Beau Webster can provide a similar option with the ball if required. “It’s the flexibility of what he gives us in terms of the ball, which was something we’re looking forward to, but… Beau Webster can arguably do a similar role if called upon with the ball,” he said.

The Test series is scheduled to begin on October 9 in Durban, with the second Test to be played in Gqeberha from October 18 and the third in Johannesburg from October 27.

The three-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. Australia currently sit at the top of the standings, while defending champions South Africa occupy second place.

--IANS

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