New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Cameron Green says he is ready to unleash his full pace against England in the Ashes, revealing that his titanium-stabilised spine has enabled him to break the 140kph barrier in a match for the first time since his back surgery.

Speaking on cricket.com.au’s Unplayable Podcast, the Australian all-rounder said his recent Sheffield Shield outing gave him the confidence that he can withstand a heavy workload throughout the five-Test series. “It felt really good,” Green said of the 16 overs he bowled against Queensland. “It was 35 degrees day one, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, have I completely lost my bowling fitness here?’ But it was nice to look around and all the bowlers who bowl heaps were also struggling. The body felt really good after – so big tick.”

Green admitted that although he had been bowling plenty in the nets, returning to match play triggered an intensity he had missed. “Nothing is quite like bowling in a game. The intensity – you just hit a level that you just can’t hit in the nets,” he noted. “I think I went as hard as I could a few trainings beforehand and couldn’t get the airspeed that I just got reasonably easily in a game… they mentioned 140 (kph).”

His return to full-throttle pace comes after he underwent significant lower-back surgery in October last year, a procedure increasingly used by fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and James Pattinson. The operation involved inserting titanium screws into his spine, a fix Green now believes has made him more resilient.

“I’ve got the courage that it will be fine. That maybe could be a little bit too naïve, but when you’ve got metal in your back here, you hope that doesn’t break quite as easy as bone,” he said. “If anything, it’s a bit of a confidence boost.”

Green admitted that he might be slightly underprepared for the Ashes in terms of competitive overs, but he believes this could benefit Australia. “I probably haven’t had the competitive overs in a game that I would have liked coming into this series.

But I think the double-edged sword is that you come in really fresh,” he said. “A five-Test match series versus England is going to take a lot out of you and if you’re already coming in a bit tired, you’re going to be exhausted by the end. Hopefully by the back-end, I’m still going really well whereas if I went a bit too hard with a few Shield games, I might not be.”

The 26-year-old has also been adapting to his role at No.3 in the Test lineup, a change that initially challenged him but ultimately yielded consistent results during the West Indies series. “It was the first time in my career batting three,” Green said. “It didn’t quite go how I planned it, but it was nice just to get it out of the way and then work on a few things… There were definitely positives to take out of it.” He added that survival in the Caribbean required a stripped-back approach.

“The wickets were that tough that getting a 40 or 50 was pretty amazing. I found the best way was probably just to play literally only balls that were on your pads, and keep it as compact as possible. Trying to expand your game was just so tough over there.”

Green, who has become a significant presence in both white-ball formats, said the demands of Test batting still require a longer settling period for him. “I still feel like there’s a slight difference in how I play white-ball and how I play my best cricket in red-ball,” he explained.

“Over time you start to learn your game more… You work through so many different combinations to see what works. I feel like I’ve found a way in white-ball cricket that really works, makes me feel really powerful and dominant. It’s just finding the right balance in red-ball cricket, because the ball behaves completely differently.”

–IANS

hs/vi