Cameron Green injury leaves Australia's Durban Test XI unsettled

Cameron Green is in doubt for Australia's first Test against South Africa, which starts at Kingsmead in Durban on 9 October. The Cameron Green injury is an abdominal strain, picked up playing a hook shot in the third one-day international of the tour. He missed the two-day warm-up at Potchefstroom. He was limited to light conditioning on the sidelines while the rest of the squad played.

No official ruling has been announced. A report in The West Australian on Monday said Green could be targeting the second or third Test instead. The news agency IANS and CricTracker both carried that account.

A hook shot and a missed warm-up

Green is 27. The strain reaches his batting, his bowling and his fielding at once. That is the awkward part. A side that picks him to balance the eleven cannot half-use him.

He had also been managing a sore shoulder through the one-day series, IANS reported, which had already cut his bowling workload. Two niggles in a month is a poor way to arrive at a three-Test tour.

Australia's red-ball preparation here was a single two-day fixture at Potchefstroom. Marnus Labuschagne made a century in it. Green watched from the boundary.

Connolly, Webster and the Kingsmead balance

Cooper Connolly is the obvious beneficiary. He bowls left-arm orthodox and bats in the middle order. Durban has historically given something to the slower bowlers. His only Test appearance came in Sri Lanka early last year.

Beau Webster becomes close to automatic without Green. Australia then added wicketkeeper-batter Sam Harper and Nic Maddinson to the touring party last week. The squad that left home looked settled. It does not now.

• Pat Cummins (captain) and Steve Smith (vice-captain)
• Cooper Connolly, Matt Renshaw, Beau Webster, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne
• Alex Carey and Josh Inglis (wicketkeepers)
• Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser
• Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann (spin)

Green's recent red-ball form is the part Australia will miss most. He made a Test century against Bangladesh in Darwin and finished among the standout batters of that series alongside Smith, by the IANS account. Replacing the runs is one problem. Replacing the overs is another.

Johnson's objection to Maddinson

Maddinson's recall has not been universally welcomed. Mitchell Johnson called the selection difficult to justify in his column for The West Australian. Maddinson is 34 and last played a Test a decade ago, IANS reported, after eighteen months away from red-ball cricket.

"If Cam Green is unavailable, Matthew Renshaw or Cooper Connolly should remain ahead of Maddinson," Johnson wrote. "They were included in the original squad and should have a clearer position in the selection order."

Both sides counting absentees

South Africa are missing a top-order batter of their own. Tony de Zorzi was ruled out of the opening Test on 3 October with a hamstring strain. ESPNcricinfo, IOL and CricTracker all reported the decision.

Temba Bavuma's squad still holds Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs for the top six. Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin give the hosts two frontline spinners for a ground that tends to reward them.

The series runs 9 to 13 October, 18 to 22 October and 27 to 31 October. Four clear days separate the first Test from the second. That is the window the reports point to for Green, if Durban comes too soon. Australia name their eleven on the morning of the match.