Sometimes getting dropped is the best thing that can happen to a Test cricketer.
Steve Waugh was dropped early in his career, as was Matthew Hayden on multiple occasions, and both ultimately returned as vastly improved players who went on to become icons of Australian cricket.
Which brings us to misfiring all-rounder Cameron Green, who failed yet again with the bat on day one of the First Test against Bangladesh.
Perhaps Green might be able to benefit from a similar redemption arc to Waugh and Hayden? Alas, as of right now, we’ll never know.
MORE: Australia rolled by Bangladesh: Batters embarrassed in Darwin first Test
Despite 18 months of mediocrity the towering Western Australian continues to hold his place in the Test XI - a situation that is increasingly and uncomfortably hard to justify for George Bailey and Co, particularly after yet another squandered opportunity in Darwin.
Green arrived with considerable fanfare in 2020, anointed as Australia’s next great Test all-rounder from the moment he burst onto the international scene, and at times he has absolutely shown flashes of exactly why.
Yet the numbers tell a frustrating story of missed opportunity and potential yet to be realised, and there’s no way to sugar coat them.
In 37 Tests, the 27-year-old has a career batting average of 32.8 and a modest bowling average of 39.
That’s the good news.
Across 2025 and 2026, those numbers have collapsed alarmingly with Green managing just 21.18 with the bat while bowling at 48.14 across 10 Tests - returns that surely don’t justify the stubborn faith being shown to him by national selectors for a man entrusted top hold down the crucial No. 5 spot and anchor the innings when things get tough. At the moment Green simply is not doing that, and his country desperately needs him to.
Also, let’s not forget Australia already has an all-rounder in its current lineup in Beau Webster. Do we really need a second who continues to underwhelm?
Perhaps the worst part about Green’s failure on day one in Darwin is that is isn’t at all surprising - it’s just the latest in a long list of middling performances, and the case for national selectors to give the million-dollar IPL man a spell is now becoming overwhelming.
Of course, Australia’s current problems don’t stop with Green.
Usman Khawaja may now be retired, but continued lacklustre returns from Marnus Labuschagne and Jake Wetherald keep placing Travis Head, Steve Smith and Alex Carey under massive pressure almost every time they stride to crease.
So far they’ve risen to the challenge with only Smith’s lone hand in Darwin preventing complete embarrassment on Thursday, but with a hostile away series against South Africa looming the need for succession planning has never been more urgent.
What better opportunity will the selectors ever have to blood a young batsman than in this current series?
Despite his troubles, Green is currently the only player in the Australian Test XI under the age of 30 and if the selectors are going to persist with underperforming players, logic surely suggests those players should at least be the ones building toward the future, not retirement?
Instead, Australia risks carrying a struggling 27-year-old all rounder and an ageing batting lineup into the toughest 12 months of Test cricket Australia has seen in years, perhaps ever.
Waugh and Hayden proved that a stint out of the side can forge better players.
Green might benefit from the same lesson, and given the bigger picture around Australia’s ageing top order, it might also be time to give someone else a chance, preferably someone on the right side of 30.
Frankly, whoever gets the nod, they can’t do much worse than the current XI did in Darwin yesterday.