Australia’s Cameron Green hopes half-century against West Indies can be turning point

Australia batter Cameron Green hopes his vital half-century on day three of the second cricket Test against the West Indies in Grenada can turn around a poor run of form and cement his spot in the top order.

He was promoted to bat at No. 3 for last month’s World Test Championship final, his first Test in more than a year, but scored only four runs and faced just five balls as Australia lost by five wickets to South Africa.

Despite failing to impress, he retained his position for the three-Test series against the West Indies, with captain Pat Cummins saying he viewed the 26-year-old all-rounder as a long-term option in the slot.

Green had another underwhelming display in Australia's 159-run win in the first Test, scoring just 18 runs, but contributed 52 on July 5 and combined with Steve Smith (71) for a crucial 93-run partnership that gave the visitors the upper hand in the second match.

“You always need innings here and there just to get you back and get you going, hopefully today was certainly one of those. A lot of good things I can get out of just spending time in the middle,” he told reporters.

“I think the balls faced has been trending up. The runs haven’t been there, but there’s certainly little positives I can take out of it. Hopefully, my output can be a little bit better than it has been, but today was a nice sign that things are hopefully trending well.

“You all know when you’re playing that there’s runs that need to be made, certainly when you’re batting up the order for Australia. It’s a tough game, so being able to bounce back from tough times is equally as important.”

Australia ended day three on 221-7 with a commanding 254-run lead heading into the final two days of the match, and will look to set an even more daunting target when play resumes later on July 6. REUTERS