Australia all-rounder Cameron Green is seventh time lucky as he has converted a half-century into hundred and now feels more like a Test cricketer with "monkey off your back". Green, who is playing his 20th Test, scored 114 off 170 balls and his innings was no less significant than Usman Khawaja's 180 that took Australia to a solid first innings score of 480 on the second day of the fourth Test against India on Friday. "You feel more like a Test cricketer when you've got that monkey off your back, so it is nice to tick that off in a way. It's so special," Green told reporters at the end of the day's play.
He got a few loose deliveries, especially from Umesh Yadav, which helped him quickly get into the 90s before completing his maiden ton.
"I think I might have got a bit lucky, I got from 70, to 80, to 90 pretty quickly, so that probably helped a bit, not having too much time to think about it, that's all." With a top score of 84 in his previous 19 outings, this innings was certainly special.
"It was really special, obviously (being 95) over the lunch break that 40 minutes felt like an hour and forty. But I was batting with Uzzy (Khawaja's nickname). The whole time, there was experience at the other end and he was batting beautifully and that helps a lot," Green said, recollecting the moments just before he reached his ton.
In his two years in Test cricket, Green has understood that it is no bed of roses and hence would like to make hay till the sun shines.
"It's my 20th Test so I've had a good chance to see the ups and downs of Test cricket, see it for what it is. It's an incredibly tough game, and when you get moments like that you really cherish them. So yeah I've seen how tough Test cricket is and I'm enjoying every second of it." The pull shots still hurt his finger which had undergone surgery and forced him to miss the first two Tests.
"It's really good. All the rehab and recovery I did over those few months has really helped get to where I am now. It's been completely fine bowling, and batting there's maybe a couple of the pull shots hurt for a split second, but completely fine now." On a good track like the one at Motera, playing straight is key and that has helped him get back his batting rhythm which would have been a bit difficult had his Test comeback happened Down Under.
"Maybe, if you're playing in Australia where the ball is nipping around, maybe the time in the middle might be a bit tough, but out in the middle it's a very good wicket to bat on. So had a chance to play with a straight bat and get yourself in, which was really nice." For him, Khawaja's presence was the best calming influence that he could have had.
"With Uzzy, he's an experienced head that's played Test cricket for more than 10 years now, he's so valuable for guys like myself and a few of the young guys in the team the way he goes about it," Green said.
"I'm trying to learn as much as I can off him, and luckily enough there are a lot of guys in the change rooms like that, you've got Travis Head, Marnus, Smudge, they're all the best in the world at the moment, so I'm incredibly lucky I've got guys around like that," he concluded.
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