Cameron Green to undergo surgery, Starc in doubt for opening test against India

Amidst Australia’s dominating victory over South Africa at the MCG in the second test match, there were some injury concerns for the Aussies ahead of their future challenges. Lead pacer Mitchell Starc and star all-rounder Cameron Green both suffered finger injuries which might force the Australians to think about their balance.

Green broke his right index finger after being struck on the finger by a Anrich Nortje bouncer. After consulting a physician, It has been informed that, Green is scheduled to have surgery. However, thankfully for Australia, he should heal within a month and is likely to be fit ahead of Australia’s much awaited tour of India

 Starc, on the other hand, might not need surgery, but the injury to the tendon in his left middle finger could keep him out of action for long which is a worrying sign for Australia.

 Both players showed immense guts in service to their nation. Green picked up his finger injury in the first innings of Australia and was forced to retire hurt. After resuming his innings, he then put up a gutsy performance by scoring 51 runs battling with his injury.

Lead pacer Mitchell Starc too was applauded for his bravery. He bowled an extremely courageous spell of 18 overs and picked up opener Sarel Erwe. Starc despite battling with pain, refused to take injection and instead preferred pain killers as he was determined to not leave the field.

Starc was seen continuously rubbing blood coming out from his wound. But it was his passion and grit that kept him going.

With Green already ruled out from bowling in the second innings, Australia would have been in deep trouble had they lost Starc as well. But Starc was persistent enough to not leave the field and help Australia win the boxing day test by a huge margin and seal the series against South Africa with an unassailable lead of 2-0.

Australian captain Pat Cummins was all in praise of the character shown by both Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc. In the post-match presentation, Cummins said “This is definitely a good moment to highlight all the amazing accomplishments this week. Starcy had the guts to accomplish that despite having a broken finger that would keep him out of commission for a few weeks. The same goes for  Cam Green as well for his  “guts-ing” performance.

With the massive tour of India ahead, Australia will be hoping for the speedy recovery of both the players. While Cam Green is likely to recover in time, there are worrying signs that Australia might miss the services of Mitchell Starc. He will have to be very careful and smart in how he recovers in order to give a slight chance to his availability.

Both players play very key roles for the Aussies. Cameron Green provides the right balance to the team with his all-round skills. While Mitchell Starc is the team’s best reverse swing bowler and will be vital on Indian pitches.