McDonald Backs Green's Test Return, Eyes Webster Partnership

Green struggled to make an impact during the series against England, managing modest returns of 24.42 with the bat and 70.75 with the ball. His underwhelming performances were further highlighted by the emergence of Beau Webster, who impressed in limited opportunities with a quick 71 runs and three wickets in his lone appearance.

However, McDonald made it clear that Green's place in the side is not under immediate threat. Speaking to SEN Radio, the coach expressed confidence in the 25-year-old's ability to deliver at the highest level in due course.

"He (Green) is good enough and it's only a matter of time before it gets to a situation where he's performing for Australia," McDonald said when asked whether the team would continue to back him in the Test XI.

A key factor behind that faith is Green's strong record in domestic red-ball cricket. While his Test numbers after 37 matches stand at a batting average of 32.75 and a bowling average of 38.94, his first-class performances paint a far stronger picture. He averages 45.52 overall in first-class cricket, a figure that climbs to 53.38 in the Sheffield Shield.

"Anyone that's averaging that at Shield level suggests that he's ahead of the pack there. To me, it's only a matter of time before that connects into Test cricket," McDonald noted.

The coach also acknowledged the heightened expectations placed on allrounders in Australian cricket, pointing out that several past players required time to find consistency at the international level. He referenced figures such as Mitchell Marsh, Shane Watson, and Andrew Symonds as examples.

"You only have to look a short time ago: Mitch Marsh's journey, and Shane Watson, and even Andrew Symonds at the start of his career. There is an expectation around allrounders, it's almost like they want them to average 45 with the bat and less than 30 with the ball. And there's been very few that do that," he said.

Looking ahead, McDonald suggested that Australia could experiment with combinations that include both Green and Webster, especially following the retirement of Usman Khawaja, who vacated a middle-order role late in his career.

"If you looked at the last team, let's just take that, Usman [Khawaja] has retired, and he vacates the No. 5 position where he was opening and he went to five to finish off [during the final stages of his career]. But you've got Webster and Green that potentially can play in the same team, should we see it that way, so that gives us incredible flexibility."

McDonald also addressed Australia's disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, where the team exited in the group stage after losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. He described the performance as well below expectations, particularly given the team's strong record leading into the tournament.

"Yeah, not our finest and an incredibly disappointing campaign. For a team that's over the two-year period post the West Indies World Cup, winning at 80% and doing a lot right, we did have a few moving parts late," he said.

Injuries to key players, including Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, along with Mitchell Marsh missing the opening games, disrupted preparations, though McDonald was quick to avoid excuses.

"We lost Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins and then Mitch Marsh wasn't able to play the first couple of games, but there are no excuses."

Australia will now turn their attention to their next Test assignment, a two-match home series against Bangladesh scheduled for August, with matches set to be played in Darwin and Mackay.

- IANS