Cameron Green Injured Again! Andrew McDonald Confirms All-Rounder's Unavailability For The First Test Vs South Africa

Cameron Green will miss Australia’s first Test against South Africa in Durban after an abdominal injury, head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Tuesday, October 6.

The setback leaves Australia without the 27-year-old all-rounder for the series opener and adds to uncertainty over how the side will balance its XI.

Green picked up the injury while batting in Australia’s third ODI against South Africa in Potchefstroom last week. He was struck in the abdominal region by a delivery from Corbin Bosch.

He then sat out the two-day tour game that followed as Australia began managing his recovery.

Australia still hope Green can play later in the series. If he returns, his role could be limited to batting as he works through rehabilitation and resumes cricket-related activity.

Recovery Timeline

McDonald offered a positive update. He confirmed Green is out of the Durban Test but made clear Australia have not given up on seeing him again in the series.

"He won't be available for the first Test match," said McDonald. "He's progressing pretty well, all things considered, on the back of the injury that he had to his abdominal. So he's still here for a reason, so that there is some light at the end of the tunnel."

Green now faces a week of rehabilitation. Australia expect him to slowly resume cricket work during that period, with a few net sessions pencilled in during the first Test as part of his return plan.

The coach said the next few days will shape the picture. "It'll just be a matter of going through the rehab. He's got a pretty demanding week this week as he reintroduces a few activities and and you'll see that probably play out in the net situation during lunchtime in and around the game. So yeah, it's it's a bit of an unknown, but there's still optimism that he will take part in the series at some some stage," said McDonald.

Webster Selection Debate

Selection remains open. McDonald did not confirm Beau Webster as Green’s automatic replacement, even with the injured all-rounder ruled out of the first Test.

Webster, 32, played alongside Green in the two-Test series against Bangladesh in August this year. He has played 10 Tests since January 2025, when he made his debut against India in Sydney.

"I don't think anything's automatic," said McDonald on Webster. "The all-rounder has always been there for us, but there hasn't been a huge demand on the amount of overs that that person has to, you know, your bowl.

"So, yeah, I think the the beauty of the squad that we've got is we can go in many directions, depending on you know what we hypothesize what's going to happen over the five days the day before. So I think we've got all bases covered, which is nice to have that.

"So there's a lot of discussion about which way we can go, and three days out is never the time to start having those discussions. We've got a main session today, so we'll get a bit more information on where the players are at in terms of you know their skill work and how they're placed, and as that surface starts to present closer to the game as to what it may start like, I think that's when we can narrow in," said the Australia coach.