Morris: Australia have been crying out for Green, now he’s delivering

Australian cricket has been waiting for a Test match day like this for some time.

After bowling South Africa out for 329 on Day 1, Australia knew they had to bat well to keep themselves in the game.

That’s exactly what they did on Day 2 in Cape Town, finishing at 4/330 at Stumps.

Most pleasingly, it was the next generation of Aussie cricket who got the job done, with all of Matt Renshaw (74), Cameron Green (65) and Josh Inglis (85 not out) looking brilliant at the crease.

SEN Cricket’s Tom Morris hopes that this is a glimpse into the future for a team who many think are heading straight to a cliff in the next 12 months.

“This was the day that Australian cricket has been waiting for, I reckon, for the best part of three or four years,” Morris said on SEN Breakfast.

It’s the first Test match with no Warner, no Khawaja or no Smith since 2011.

“It was a glimpse into the future with Green, Renshaw, Inglis and, to a lesser extent, Travis Head and also Alex Carey.

“It was really impressive stuff, and they are very much in the box seat.”

For Green, it’s now his third consecutive innings with a score of 65 or more.

At 27, Morris highlighted Green’s importance to the team and his progression with the willow in the last six months.

“Cameron Green deserved to get dropped when he did, and I talked about this on air as well at the time,” Morris said.   “My view at the time was that Cameron Green needed to be dropped, just as they should drop Marnus.

“But now you bring him back in and look what he's doing.

“The ideal scenario for Australia is he's at No. 5, and he's bowling in the summer.

“Then when Steve Smith's done, he moves up to No. 4. That is the progression for Cameron Green.   “He actually batted beautifully today. He plays spin really nicely. The shot that he got out to was really poor, but he's become a really important player in this team.

“He's so important because he's 27, and we're crying out for young cricketers to show the next generation how to do it.”

Australia begin Day 3 when Inglis (85 not out) and Alex Carey (51 not out) return to the middle.

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