Former players weigh in on the controversial dismissal at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-20231:37

Was Cameron Green’s grab out or not?

Shubman Gill’s dismissal in India’s second innings of the World Test Championship final sparked debate over whether the catch taken by Cameron Green at gully was clean or not.It was a spectacular effort from the 6’7″ Green once again. He had taken a high one-handed blinder with his right hand in India’s first innings to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane, and here he had to dive low to his left and pluck the ball milliseconds before it hit the turf. Replays though suggested it was a close call.Both Gill and his opening partner Rohit Sharma had seen the edge dying on its way to the cordon, so they waited, bringing the TV umpire into play. Previously, contentious catches referred to the TV umpire used to come with a soft signal – out or not out – from the on-field umpires, and there needed to be conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision. The ICC has only just scrapped the soft-signal rule, and this was the first instance of a TV umpire adjudicating a contentious catch on his own. In this case the TV umpire Richard Kettleborough saw enough from the visuals to suggest Green had got his fingers under the ball.Rohit didn’t agree though. He seemed to mouth an audible “No” as the “Out” flashed on the big screen at The Oval. Gill, also, put out a tweet after the day’s play, using emojis that suggested he did not believe it was a clean catch. The replays on the broadcast lost a frame between Green catching with his fingers underneath the ball as he fell to the grass and then throwing it up in celebration. Did the ball in that frame – as he rolled his hand over – touch the turf? There seemed to be no conclusive evidence to say either way, and both of ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day experts – Sanjay Manjrekar and Brad Haddin – were of the opinion the right decision had been made.”When you see it real time, it is very important thing to see and something I have advocated to a lot of people about when there is a review for a low catch that goes upstairs to the TV umpire, they get a lot of angles and the frozen image is something that sets the cat among the pigeons,” Manjrekar said. “The viewers see the frozen image and see the leather touching the turf … in real time, it looked like a pretty brilliant catch, just a nice motion. If you ask me if that was a catch, I’d say, yes, brilliant catch.”Haddin said: “I thought it was a clean catch and Green got his fingers underneath the ball. I like it at real time because if you slow it down too much and look at different frames, it can create a lot of doubt. In this case, he had his fingers under the ball and it was a clean catch.”The catch that Cameron Green took to dismiss Shubman Gill•Getty Images

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting also agreed with the interpretation that it was a fair catch. “When I saw it live, I knew it had carried to him on the full, but I wasn’t sure what the action was after that from all replays we have seen,” he told the ICC. “I actually think some part of the ball did touch the ground and it is the interpretation of the umpire that as long as the fielder has complete control of the ball before the ball hits the ground then it is out. That must have been what the umpires’ interpretation was and I think that is exactly what happened. It carried probably six or eight inches off the ground then there was another action after that.”Former India allrounder and coach Ravi Shastri, speaking after the day’s play, said two fingers under the ball often means the ball has touched the ground but, in this case, he could certainly see why the umpire when with the out decision. “If I saw what I saw there as the third umpire, it’s very difficult to say that the ball hit the ground, because you could see the two fingers under it,” Shastri told Star Sports. “I’ve always believed when it comes up with two fingers, the chances of the ball touching the ground are much more as opposed to three fingers, where the three fingers come under the ball. So what I can see of Cameron Green there, there are two fingers. So it’s a tough one, but you go down the umpire’s route, he has to be convinced that the ball has touched the ground.”And let’s not forget, he has got giant fingers, he’s a big fellow, and you can see the angle of the fingers, it’s under the ball. You’ve got the thumb on top, the fingers are wrapped around the ball. Richard Kettleborough, I can see where he’s coming from.”Former Australia opener and coach Justin Langer, on the same segment on Star Sports, agreed with Shastri’s assessment. “Richard Kettleborough is a world-class umpire, and what he goes on, he had to probably give it out. The other thing that I always find interesting is the initial reaction of the fielder. Cameron Green got underneath it and was convinced he had caught it. Often if there’s any doubt, you can see it in the body language of the fielder.”Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh and former India batter Virender Sehwag both said the replays viewed by the third umpire were inconclusive, and giving the batter out based on those visuals was incorrect. “Inconclusive evidence. When in doubt, it’s not out,” Sehwag tweeted, while Harbhajan told PTI: “The replay was inconclusive. They should have zoomed in on his fingers closely before taking the call. It could cost India dearly in the run chase.”That was the last action before the tea interval on the fourth day, with the players leaving the field to boos from the largely Indian crowd. Gill fell for 18 off 19 with his team 41 for 1 in 7.1 overs in a chase of 444.

“Important that we are growing the female representation on the committee,” chair Mike Gatting notes

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2023Jhulan Goswami, Heather Knight and Eoin Morgan have become the latest members of the MCC’s world cricket committee ahead of the body’s meeting at Lord’s on Monday and Tuesday. Alastair Cook, though, has stepped down from the committee “to concentrate on the final years of his glittering playing career”, leaving the committee with 14 members.”We are thrilled to welcome Jhulan, Heather and Eoin to the World Cricket committee. These are three players who have excelled at the very top of the international game and their knowledge of how the elite level of cricket works will be an advantage to the committee,” Mike Gatting, the committee’s chair, said in a statement.

The committee

Mike Gatting (chair), Jamie Cox, Suzie Bates, Clare Connor, Kumar Dharmasena, Sourav Ganguly, Jhulan Goswami, Heather Knight, Justin Langer, Eoin Morgan, Ramiz Raja, Kumar Sangakkara, Graeme Smith, Ricky Skerritt

“It is also important that we are growing the female representation on the committee with the growth that women’s cricket has enjoyed in recent years. Jhulan and Heather join Clare Connor and Suzie Bates who can all offer first-hand insight into the women’s game.”The committee, funded entirely by the MCC, conduct research, particularly into technological advances and the biomechanical elements of the game.Knight and Morgan have both led their teams to ODI World Cup glory, and Lord’s, home of the MCC and the world cricket committee, was the venue of their triumphs: Knight led England women to the title in 2017 and Morgan did the same with the England men’s team in 2019. Goswami, India’s captain at various points in her two-decade-long international career, retired at Lord’s last year as the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODIs.

Hosts Pakistan set to take on Nepal in tournament opener on August 30 in the latest version of the draft schedule

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Jul-2023Pakistan are set to play India on September 2 in Kandy in the 2023 Asia Cup, which is scheduled to start on August 30, a day earlier than originally planned by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). ESPNcricinfo has learnt the tournament opener will be played in Multan with hosts Pakistan playing Nepal with the final scheduled in Colombo on September 17.Those matches feature in the latest version of the draft schedule which is likely to see further changes before the ACC announces the final version. The original draft schedule, prepared by the PCB (the hosting board), has already undergone several iterations mainly because of the six-nation tournament being played in Pakistan and Sri Lanka based on the hybrid model approved by the ACC recently.Related

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• Four Asia Cup matches in Pakistan; remaining nine in SL

A total of 13 matches will be played in the tournament. Pakistan are grouped with India and Nepal in Group A while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage with the top two teams in this phase advancing to the final. The Asia Cup, which will be played in the 50-overs format this time, is essentially a preparation run for five of the six teams – barring Nepal – for the ODI World Cup which begins from October 5 in India.As per the original model, which was prepared by the PCB, Pakistan were meant to host four matches in just one city. However, Multan was added as the second venue after a new PCB administration, under new chairman Zaka Ashraf, took over this month. In the draft schedule, Multan is scheduled to host just the opening match with Lahore staging three matches and one Super Fours game.Bangladesh are slotted to play Afghanistan on September 3 in Lahore followed by Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium on September 5. The draft schedule also points out that regardless of where they finish in the first round, Pakistan will remain A1 and India A2 while Sri Lanka will be B1 and Bangladesh B2. In case Nepal and Afghanistan qualify for the Super Four stage, they will take the slot of the team knocked out (Pakistan or India in Group A and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Group B).The only Super Fours match listed in the draft schedule to be played in Pakistan is on September 6 between A1 and B2. In case both Pakistan and India advance to the Super Four stage, they will play again on September 10 in Kandy. Dambulla is the other Sri Lankan venue listed to host three matches in the Super 4s stage.

Changes at the top as Ireland return to 50-over format for first time since failed World Cup bid

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2023Paul Stirling will captain Ireland in their three-match ODI series against England in September, their first 50-over series since their disappointing display at the World Cup qualifying event in Zimbabwe in June and July.Stirling will open the batting alongside Andrew Balbirnie, his predecessor as captain, while Curtis Campher has been confirmed as the new No.3, as Ireland take on the world champions England in three ODIs at Headingley, Trent Bridge and Bristol between September 20 and 26.The squad includes a prospective new cap in Theo van Woerkom, a New Zealand-born left-arm spinner who has featured for Northern Knights in Ireland’s provincial competition.Ireland came into the World Cup qualifying tournament with high hopes of making it through to the main event for the first time since 2015. However, they eventually finished seventh after missing out on the Super Sixes’ phase of the competition.Since then, they have successfully reached the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA next year, and were most recently in action against India last week, losing the three-match series 2-0, with one abandonment.”While the squad has an overall familiar shape, there are several important changes we are going to look at,” Andrew White, Ireland men’s national selector, said. “The key changes are at the top of the order where Andrew Balbirnie will open with Paul Stirling. The pair have a great understanding and we believe they can develop into a longer term opening option in the 50-over game.”Along with this, Curtis Campher will make the move to number 3, where we believe he has the technique and aptitude to succeed in the role – he plays pace as well as anyone in the squad, and whilst he has been a mainstay of our middle order for a few years now, we believe he has the capability to batter higher up the order and have a really positive impact.”We see this series as important in the development and evolution of our one-day squad and the players are certainly looking forward to locking horns with England for the first time in ODIs since 2020.”Ireland squad: Paul Stirling (capt), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young.

Vasavada scored a patient fifty but Saurashtra are still 96 runs behind with only a wicket in hand

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2023Saurabh Kumar’s all-round show, combined with Rest of India bowlers’ clinical performance put the team ahead against Saurashtra in the Irani Trophy. In reply to Rest of India’s 308, Saurashtra reached 212 for 9 at stumps. Vidwath Kaverappa and Saurabh picked up three wickets each to entertain thoughts of a first-innings lead.After Saurashtra bowled Rest of India out early in the morning, they were put on the back foot straight away with fast bowler Kaverappa knocking over Harvik Desai and Chiraj in his first two overs. A score of 1 for 1 became 77 for 5 with Saurabh snagging Sheldon Jackson and Samarth Vyas. Cheteshwar Pujara consumed 81 balls for 29 runs before he was dismissed by right-arm offspinner Pulkit Narang. Kaverappa picked up one more wicket in the final session to return figures of 3 for 28 in his nine overs.With Saurashtra in need of repairs, Arpit Vasavada produced a patient half-century. He first shared a 47-run partnership with Prerak Mankad for the sixth wicket and then put on 54 runs for the seventh wicket with Parth Bhut, who had completed a five-wicket haul in the morning. Vasavada hit just two boundaries in his 127-ball knock and scored 54 runs before falling to Saurabh, ten minutes before the close of the play.Earlier, Saurabh, at No. 8, managed to push his score up to 39, including five fours, before he eventually became Bhut’s fifth victim as Rest of India folded soon after crossing the 300-mark.

However, Zimbabwe will be without seamer Brad Evans, who has not yet fully recovered from shin splits

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2023Sikandar Raza will begin his first assignment as Zimbabwe’s full-time T20I captain by leading a near-full-strength squad in the upcoming T20 World Cup men’s Africa Qualifier, to be held in Namibia from November 22. Zimbabwe, who made a number of major changes to their set-up following a 3-2 T20I series defeat to Namibia last month, will be boosted by the return to full fitness of pace bowler Blessing Muzarabani who has recovered from a right-hand fracture.Zimbabwe will be without seamer Brad Evans, who has not yet fully recovered from shin splits.Overall, the team made four changes to the side that featured at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, with opening batters Innocent Kaia, Nicholas Welch and Tadiwanashe Marumani, and fast bowler Carl Mumba all finding a place in the 15-member squad. Raza will also be hoping to count on the experience of Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Tendai Chatara, as well as others like Richard Ngarava, Ryan Burl and Wellington Masakadza.Zimbabwe are one of seven teams taking part in the Africa Qualifier, as they look to book their spot in next year’s T20 World Cup, to be held in the USA and the Caribbean.Zimbabwe did not participate in the 2021 T20 World Cup because Zimbabwe Cricket was suspended by the ICC because of government interference in its administration. At the 2022 edition, they topped their group in the first round but finished last – sixth – in their Super 12 grouping, and failed to automatically qualify for 2024. Two teams from the qualifiers will complete the 20-team line-up for the main edition in 2024.Last month, ZC, placing importance on Zimbabwe’s pursuit of a spot at the upcoming T20 World Cup, named Raza as the permanent captain in T20Is, while also retaining Dave Houghton as the head coach in an attempt to maintain continuity.

New South Wales are on the brink of a drought-breaking victory after the defending champions slumped to 34 for 6

Andrew McGlashan07-Nov-2023A stylish maiden first-class century from Ollie Davies and a memorable new-ball spell from Chris Tremain put New South Wales on the brink of ending their run of 15 Sheffield Shield matches with a win.After Davies’ superbly-constructed 129 had built a lead of 135, Tremain produced a stunning opening spell of 5 for 12 in nine overs as Western Australia sank to 34 for 6 to briefly threaten their lowest even Shield total of 41.The defending champions saved themselves from that and managed to make it through to the end of the second day through the efforts of Cameron Bancroft and the lower order but will need a miracle to make a game of it.Davies, the 23-year-old who has predominantly been a white-ball player and has reached Australia A level, was overlooked for NSW’s first three Shield games this season but earned a spot at the SCG in place of the injured Jack Edwards.On the first evening Davies had walked in with the home side tottering on 71 for 4 amid fears NSW’s batting woes could rear their head again, but he responded with a 117-ball century, reaching the landmark with a six over long-on.”They brought the field and I said to myself, if this is tossed up, I’m hitting the ball quite nicely and I back myself to get it over,” Davies told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve been hitting a lot of balls trying to push myself back into the Shield team and was nice to get a hundred first crack back.”I’ve been overlooked at times for the red-ball side so for me I really did want to make a statement and show everyone that I can play red-ball cricket. Thought I did that today and helped put our team in a pretty good position.”When he was last-man out, NSW had built a strong lead and they quickly started to make it count on a pitch that had offered plenty of assistance with the new ball.Chris Tremain tore through the WA top order•Getty Images

Tremain was already their leading wicket-taker for the season and was soon growing his tally in dramatic fashion. He started by having Sam Whiteman caught down the leg side, then pinned Teague Wyllie and Hilton Cartwright lbw with consecutive deliveries to bring tea.On resumption, the hat-trick ball zipped past Josh Philippe’s edge but he did not last long before nicking into the slips. Tremain’s five-wicket haul arrived in just his seventh over when Ashton Turner shouldered arms and the ball clattered the top of off stump.NSW had resumed on a precarious 78 for 4 but they were soon making brisk inroads towards Western Australia’s total.Davies dominated the scoring in a stand of 116 in 27 overs with Moises Henriques before the captain was bowled by a ripping delivery from Corey Rocchiccioli.Davies batted at an excellent tempo and did not take undue risks, but also kept the bowlers under pressure. On 99 he showed the confidence to dance down the wicket to Rocchiccioli and launch him over long-on to bring up NSW’s first century of the Shield season.”My natural batting is quite aggressive, so I said to myself if I faced 100 balls I’d be close to 100 or 150 I’d be close to 150,” Davies said. “So for me it was just batting as long as I could and I knew scoring opportunities would present themselves along the way. It worked, so pretty stoked.”WA did take the last five wickets for 30, including two for debutant left-arm wrist spinner Hamish McKenzie, whose first scalp came courtesy of a brilliant catch at cover by Rocchiccioli, but any notion of them being back in the game was quickly scotched.

It was their first ODI series victory in Zimbabwe

Abhimanyu Bose17-Dec-2023An excellent all-round effort from Curtis Campher and Andy Balbirnie’s half-century helped Ireland win the rain-hit third ODI and win their first men’s ODI series in Zimbabwe 2-0.Career-best bowling performances from Campher and Graham Hume helped restrict Zimbabwe to 197 in 40 overs before Balbirnie, Campher and Harry Tector knocked off the target with 13 balls to spare in Harare.Set a DLS-adjusted target of 201 from 40 overs, Ireland lost Paul Stirling early, but a 70-run stand between Balbirnie and Campher meant that the visitors were set to finish their tour of Zimbabwe on a high barring a spectacular collapse.While Balbirnie struggled to get the ball away in the first ten overs, opting for a more watchful approach on a tricky surface, Campher followed up his half-century from the second ODI with a fluent 40 with six boundaries before a stunning catch from Wellington Masakadza at midwicket denied him consecutive fifties.Balbirnie continued to hold one end down as Tector then went about being the aggressor as they added another 63 runs to consolidate Ireland’s position.Tector got a leading edge to Sikandar Raza off Luke Jongwe on 33 after Balbirnie reached his half-century off 76 balls, but Balbirnie then shifted gears, hitting 32 runs off his next 26 balls, to complete the chase with ease. A six off a Jongwe slower ball and sweep over short fine leg off Raza were the highlights of an innings which saw Balbirnie grow in confidence. In the process, he became just the fourth Irishman to hit 3000 ODI runs.Lorcan Tucker hit back-to-back boundaries to crown Ireland winners of both the ODI and T20I series.Ireland had started well after inserting Zimbabwe as Mark Adair kicked things off with a maiden. Hume gave Ireland the early breakthrough when Tinashe Kamunhukamwe edged him to second slip in the second over and Adair followed it up with another maiden.But Gumbie and Kaitano dug in to ensure Zimbabwe did not lose any more wickets in the first powerplay, despite a couple of edges evading the slips cordon.The two steadily added 43 runs before some sharp fielding from Tector at backward point saw him throw the stumps down to send Kaitano packing in the 14th over. Innocent Kaia, back in the side after being dropped in the second ODI due to Ryan Burl’s concussion, was out lbw to Campher next over. Raza then joined Gumbie at the crease, but just as they started to milk the spinners Theo van Woerkom and Andy McBrine for some quick runs, rain stopped play.When the game resumed after a two-hour delay, Zimbabwe were immediately on the front foot. Raza pulled a Theo van Woerkom drag-down for six while Gumbie got a streaky boundary off Craig Young while trying to steer him to deep third.Gumbie soon got to his second ODI fifty, off 80 deliveries, before Raza swept van Woerkom for four more, to bring up the fifty-run stand for the fourth wicket off 52 balls. The two continued to cash in on anything that was too short or too full, while also rotating strike with regularity.But Campher broke the innings open by having Raza caught at deep midwicket off a pull before bowling Clive Madande through the gate over for a two-ball duck in the same over. Luke Jongwe and Brandon Mavuta tried to play their shots before they both flicked Hume to George Dockrell at deep square leg in near-identical dismissals.Gumbie, who played a number of innovative scoops and ramps in his 106-ball 72, was soon run-out as Masakadza tried to run two after pulling Craig Young to long-on. Masakadza hit 24 off 19 to take Zimbabwe close to the 200-run mark, before he holed out trying to clear long-on.It was a better batting effort after disappointing displays in the first two ODIs, but not enough for Zimbabwe, who now have plenty of ponder as a disappointing streak of results continued.

Cricket to follow tennis lead and offer collective-bargaining opportunities for player deals

Matt Roller10-Jan-2024Cricket’s global union has followed the lead of its tennis counterpart, signing a commercial deal that aims to resolve the long-standing issues around players’ name, image and likeness rights which have lingered for more than two decades.The Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) announced on Wednesday a long-term partnership with Winners Alliance, which formed in 2022 as an affiliate of the Novak Djokovic-backed Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). Pat Cummins, Australia’s captain, described the deal as “an amazing opportunity” for men’s and women’s players.FICA instigated legal action against the ICC in 2020, alleging unauthorised use of players’ image rights by the ICC and its commercial partners, though the matter never reached court. The exploitation of commercial and intellectual property rights has been a long-running source of tension between players and administrators, briefly threatening India’s participation in the 2003 World Cup.Winners Alliance will negotiate commercial deals on behalf of cricketers who are members of FICA-affiliated players’ associations. “Most of the best players in the world are part of our global program which we have built with players, their associations and agents,” Tom Moffat, FICA’s CEO, told ESPNcricinfo.”The program is focused on opening up new global group licensing opportunities to enable players to optimise certain collective name image-likeness rights, and to add new value for the game and commercial partners through opportunities that have previously been almost impossible because of the fragmented rights landscape in cricket.”The deal will see Tim Cruickshank, who briefly played professionally for New South Wales, leave his role with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) and join Winners Alliance as their vice-president of commercial partnerships in the Asia-Pacific Region. “It’s a dream opportunity for me,” Cruickshank told ESPNcricinfo.Djokovic and Canadian tennis player Vasek Pospisil launched PTPA in 2020 and raised a reported $26 million to form Winners Alliance two years later. One source raised the possibility of cricketers being involved in cross-sport promotion opportunities as a result of the deal, featuring in advertisements alongside their tennis counterparts.”I hope this really simplifies everything for potential partners: we want to make this as easy as possible for companies wanting to invest in cricket,” Cruickshank said. “Cricket has been a complicated player-rights market but collectivising them creates additional opportunities and is best practice for all athletes across global sport. We want to solve the pain-point that cricket has had for quite some time.”Cruickshank used the example of video games, and the potential to sell collectivised name, image and likeness rights for the majority of international players. “If you want to be an officially licensed product, you’ll need to work with us,” he explained. “That obviously gives you great leverage in what is a pretty flooded market.”FICA will also receive direct funding from Winners Alliance, which Moffat said will help the organisation continue to support players “on issues like their right to form and join players’ associations, to move freely in pursuit of employment, non-payment issues and global scheduling.”The ICC are understood to be aware of the agreement, though declined to comment.

The allrounder will likely miss the limited-overs matches against Pakistan scheduled for November

Alex Malcolm04-Mar-20242:12

Cummins: Green as sharp as I have seen him

Cameron Green could be kept out of Australia’s limited-overs series against Pakistan at the start of the next home summer, ahead of a five-match Test series against India, to play Sheffield Shield cricket after the selectors were immediately rewarded for keeping him red-ball focussed before the Wellington Test where he delivered a match-winning 174 not out.Australia’s selectors decided to leave Green out of the three-match T20I series against New Zealand despite Green being in the frame to play in the T20 World Cup in June. They were not even tempted to call him in late when both Marcus Stoinis and Aaron Hardie were withdrawn with injury.Related

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Instead, they opted to leave him in Australia to play a Shield match for Western Australia against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval where he made an unbeaten 103 to help WA secure a draw on the final day. Green himself credited that preparation after his stunning century on the opening day at the Basin Reserve. He was the only player in the match to score more than 71 on a very tricky batting surface and was one of only three players to score more than 42.Following the second Test in Christchurch which begins on Friday, Australia do not play another Test until the Border-Gavaskar series starts at home in late November.Australia are scheduled to tour England for five ODIs and three T20Is in September and will then host Pakistan in three ODIs and three T20Is in November just before India’s arrival.Green will likely be a permanent fixture in both the ODI and the T20I sides by that time given Australia appear set to have several senior players finish their T20I careers after the World Cup in June. But coach Andrew McDonald said he was already thinking that Australia would prioritise Green’s red-ball preparation next summer even though the ODIs in particular will form part of the 2025 Champions Trophy build-up.”The next stress point on that’s going to be next summer leading into the Indian Test series,” McDonald said. “I think it’ll be a conversation where he’s at. I’d like to probably err on the side of preparing him through red-ball. We know how good a white-ball player he is. If you put a priority on what it looks like next summer, the white-ball cricket is important but, geez, that Test summer is important.”I think with the results he’s had out there, he’ll probably come to us and say can you give us a couple of Shield games before the first Test against India.”McDonald was careful to point out that not every multiformat player needs the same type of specialised preparation ahead of the India series. Australia have been comfortable with their three all-format fast bowlers – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – playing white-ball matches ahead of major Test series as the lesser bowling loads at a higher intensity has actually proved to be an adequate preparation for a long summer of five Tests or more.Cameron Green showed the value of first-class cricket ahead of a Test series•Getty Images

This season they are set to play seven straight Tests together as a trio for the first time in their career having come off an ODI World Cup where they played at least 10 matches or more over two months in India.”We’ll use Shield cricket to get ready for the Test summer on an individual’s needs basis,” McDonald said. “There won’t be any [prescription that] this is what we’re doing with every player. But we’ll pick and choose what that looks like, based around international cricket.”It’s a big decision to leave anyone out of international cricket when they’re actually potentially in the best XI.”I was glad that [Green] embraced that when we had that conversation with him. And the return on it was pretty immediate. It’s not always going to be like that. So even if he failed here, we felt like that was his best preparation. So don’t always judge a result as making it right or wrong.”McDonald’s New Zealand counterpart Gary Stead lamented the fact that his players have not been able to play much first-class cricket in the Plunket Shield before their Test summer.Cameron Green made a Sheffield Shield hundred before the New Zealand series•Getty Images

“I would love as national coach to see us play some Plunket Shield prior to going into Test matches and certainly it’s something that is high on my agenda to try and get New Zealand Cricket to keep thinking about the structure of our season,” Stead said.McDonald was thrilled that Green was able to showcase the talent that they knew he was capable of at No.4 following the decision to recall him in that position against West Indies with Steven Smith moving to open.”We think he can be a long-term option there and I think this is a big step towards that,” McDonald said. “The conversations are always that he’s obviously a quality player and probably the statistics that everyone was looking at early on in his career probably didn’t reflect the player that’s in front of us.”And I think we’ve seen a snapshot of that now. And I think the public’s been able to see what we’ve been able to see over a period of time in Western Australian cricket and the changeroom as a whole.”So [it’s] a really impressive step forward. The way that he worked through batting with Josh Hazlewood as well, we’ve probably had a little bit of an issue batting lower down the order. We’ve seen opponents do it to us. But he was able to navigate five balls, give Josh one, work through that tricky situation, but then to find the boundary at the right time as well to get the total to where it was. It was really impressive.”