Silver Linings: Cameron Green on back surgery, comeback and the Bumrah impact

The night before Cameron Green went in for back surgery last October, he received an unexpected message from a rather high-profile contact. The sender was Jasprit Bumrah, who was checking in on his former Mumbai Indians teammate. The fact that the Indian pace spearhead was reaching out while being involved in a Test against New Zealand in India only made his gesture even more special for the young Australian all-rounder.

Bumrah had of course undergone the same procedure 18 months earlier and recovered from it in remarkable fashion, with his bowling performances since then even more incredible than before. For Green, this was the ultimate reassurance that he was indeed "doing the right thing" by going under the knife.

"That is really special. And makes you feel a lot better about it. I didn't play with him in Mumbai but that was the connection through there. Spent a bit of time with him there. To get someone like him to reach out and then to watch him during the summer, to see how good he is obviously post-surgery, filled me with a lot of confidence," says the 26-year-old, still semi-blushing while talking about the Indian supremo.

The towering all-rounder will regain his spot in the playing XI at No 3 in all likelihood with Marnus Labuschagne set to be pushed up a position to face the new-ball at the top of the order. While Green is not expected to bowl any time soon-he has been seen taking baby steps towards full recovery on that front-the Western Australian is relishing the opportunity of resuming his Test career which was cut short just when a new chapter had begun last year. Even if it means in the garb of a pure batter for now.

For someone still so young, Green speaks with a level of maturity well beyond his years when it comes to dealing with injuries. Starting with using the term "silver linings" more often than you'd expect to hear from a professional athlete when they're talking about the challenge of recovering from injuries.

"The silver lining to having four back injuries is I've got four chances only to be a batter. I felt like my game's always been good around those periods. So, that's never to take away, I'm always going to be keep bowling. But you're so much more relaxed. Half a game to worry about, which is obviously nice. When you're bowling and batting, there's so much more you have to do bowling wise to keep yourself fit and ready to play. It does take away from batting. So, certainly, just batting is nice," he says with a smile.

And you can see how much Green is enjoying solely having to focus on his batting during his multiple stints in the nets here in London. It comes through in the freedom and the confidence that's bursting through every facet about his batting. The glorious run he's had with Gloucestershire in County Cricket in the lead-up to the WTC final is testament to that too.

Ask him about how good he's looking and Green doesn't quite underplay it but tries to keep it in context.

"(It's) certainly the best I've felt batting in England. Obviously, we don't get much time to come here and practice. So, to get the chance to come over and play some County cricket is like massively valuable. So, it's the most prepared I've been. We'll say that for now," he says with a chuckle.

Green is not a complete stranger to these conditions after all, having played in the last Ashes here in 2023 and the WTC final at The Oval against India. But he feels like the few weeks he spent with Gloucestershire allowed him to understand the unique nuances of batting in England a lot better.

"It's learning what the different conditions can bring. How old the ball can be to what it actually can do. Speaking to a few County guys who've been here for years, different ways to go about it. Certain cliches like defending straight and scoring square. It's normally the complete opposite to Australia, where you're looking to just hit straight down the ground. Just spending time out there has been awesome. Facing different speeds than what we face, different skillsets that first-class cricketers have been as compared to Australia."

Looking back at his recovery, Green talks about being amazed at how quickly his body was able to bounce back as compared to some others who'd undergone the same surgery a few years earlier. His statemate and great mate, Jason Behrendorff, who Green had consulted first, in particular.

Green, who's excited to regain his position at gully and pair up with fellow giant Beau Webster in the cordon, recalls being fully mobile at the "two-week mark" and to such an extent that the coaches had to ask him to slow down.

"I think the procedure has changed definitely since Jason Behrendorff had his. I've got three scars, as they were able to miss the muscle a bit more, a little bit invasive as compared to Jason who only has one scar. Must have gone through the one hole. I don't think he could move for 7-8 weeks. He was going a bit like "Stuff you"," he says laughing.

Green's inherent pragmatism also comes through loudly as he recounts the six-month period where he was away from the action, where he also ended up missing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the two-Test tour to Sri Lanka. While he does admit to having some tough moments when watching his teammates bring glory to the country on TV, he also raves about having made the most of the time off.

"I've always tried to find a silver lining to an injury. I think we play a lot of cricket and hardly get any time at home. So my silver lining was probably a bit of time at home. To refresh and reconnect with some friends that I don't get the time to meet otherwise. Reconnect with family. Spend some time in the gym and get my body right. Have a good think about my batting and my bowling. How can I improve there without actually doing it. When I got injured, there were definitely mixed emotions. You're missing Test cricket, which is what hurts you the most. Watching the guys play was tough at times. But at the same time, I knew I was going to go home to have 5-6 months off, which I desperately needed."

While Australia scrambled to find a replacement or replacements for Green with bat and ball, the man himself was keeping a keen eye on the India series over the summer and occasionally longing to go back to the dressing-room.

"The times when you see the guys celebrating in the dressing-room or just having a really good day, knowing the type of feeling you'll have is what makes you want to be there. But at the same time, there were moments when I definitely went 'Jasprit looks pretty good'," he says.

Even if Green was quietly admiring the premier fast bowler in the world go about his business in remarkable fashion, and feeling even more bolstered about having taken the correct decision to follow Bumrah's footsteps and get his back fixed and fused for good.