The inside word on Green’s ‘out to get me’ journalist barb

Cameron Green has been the talk of the Australian cricket world again this week, but not just for his on-field return to form.

After making 135 for WA in their drawn Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales in Sydney, his first century in any format since August, Green was reportedly upset with Sydney Morning Herald writer Tom Decent in a post-match interview on Monday.

According to Decent, Green asked the reporter, ‘Why are you out to get me?’, after initially setting strict parameters around his interview, which stipulated that it last no longer than two minutes and that all queries must relate only to the Shield match.

After a soft-ball first question, Decent says he ‘gently asked’ Green how his overall summer had been. Once no answer was given, the interviewer ended the chat, realising it would be futile.

That reportedly caused the all-rounder to mutter, ‘waste of time’, as he stormed off, before coming back to Decent to ask why he’s out to ‘get’ him.

According to the article, WA assistant Beau Casson came over to apologise for Green’s conduct.

While that was Decent’s version of events, Casson himself played down the interaction, describing it as less than a confrontation.

“Oh, look, I wouldn't say they had a confrontation. I think he (Green) just misunderstood the question asked,” Casson told SEN’s The New Ball.

“We were incredibly happy to have Cameron back. He played really well in the first innings… but it’s been a challenge for him over the last little period. 

“But it's important for people to know he's got a wonderful personality, and he's a lovely, soft man. I look forward to seeing that come to the fore in the future.

“I wouldn't say it was a confrontation, but it was nice to get an understanding of where things lay and what happened (after speaking to Decent).

“I think the question was probably from Cameron's point of view, not quite where it needed to be, and he wanted to talk about the day's play. 

“It looks like probably a storm in a teacup, but I'm sure he'll have plenty more media interviews to discuss where he's at. I'm sure we’ll be able to put that to bed, and he'll be able to discuss more things moving forward.”

With Green clearly feeling the pressure of an Ashes series where he averaged 24.42 and a T20 World Cup where he averaged just eight, SEN’s Tom Morris thinks that the best thing the all-rounder could do is sit down for a lengthy interview to get everything off his chest and move forward.

“In my view, he needs to do a sit-down interview with someone that he trusts, like you (Bharat Sundaresan), and lay it all on the line,” Morris said.

“Talk about his batting, talk about his struggles over the summer, where he's gone right, where he's gone wrong, and then forevermore if anyone asks him, he can say, ‘Look, I've already dealt with that. I've already spoken about this’.

“It's not for me to say it would be cathartic for him, but I think it would be good for him to do that, to get that all out there, because at the moment it seems like he's just bottling it all up and it's coming out in the wrong way, which isn't him. 

“He's known as an affable, friendly guy. So it is out of character. But he's also 26, and yes, that's an adult, but it's young in cricket terms, and he wouldn't be the first cricketer to have a crack at a journalist.”

Green next gears up for the IPL, where he will play this season for the Kolkata Knight Riders as the highest-paid international player in the tournament’s history at $4.17 million AUD.