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Chris Green encouraged by 'good feedback' from Australia set up

The offspinner has an outstanding powerplay record which may yet earn him international honours

Andrew McGlashan
Andrew McGlashan
22-Oct-2019
Chris Green points to his team-mate after getting a wicket  •  CPL T20

Chris Green points to his team-mate after getting a wicket  •  CPL T20

Offspinner Chris Green has been encouraged that Australia's selectors are taking notice of his nomadic T20 career ahead of next year's World Cup as he returns home ahead of the Big Bash season with the Sydney Thunder.
Green has traversed the global over recent months taking part in Canada's Global T20, the T20 Blast and the CPL having earlier in the year played in the PSL.
Most recently he was with the Guyana Amazon Warriors who strung together 11 wins on the bounce to reach the CPL final before falling short against the Barbados Tridents. He continued to excel in his role as a leading Powerplay bowler, conceding under a run-a-ball in that phase of the innings - as well as claiming a career-best 4 for 14 against the Tridents in the group stage - and since April 2016 has the best Powerplay economy (5.96) in the world.
This is yet to earn him international honours - with Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar selected in Australia's T20I squad to face Sri Lanka and Pakistan - but he has been told he is not too far away and will have the chance to shine against international opposition on Thursday as part of the Prime Minister's XI side against the Sri Lankans in Canberra.
"I've been fortunate to get some good feedback and the opportunities to play in the CA XI game against South Africa [last season] and now the PM's game is good feedback to know that you are thereabouts and that's pretty much what the selectors have told me," Green told ESPNcricinfo. " [They said] if you keep putting in performances you will push your case, but I'm fully aware that Zampa and Agar have been doing a good job and Nathan Lyon has been bowling well in one-day cricket as well.
"I sort of see of my role as very different to those three so I have to keep growing my game and if I can contribute with the bat more consistently I think that will enhance my chances in the future. My dream is to play cricket for Australia, much like every kid growing up with a cricket bat in hand. I'm just looking forward to the opportunity back on home soil and enjoying the challenge."
Green's record in the Powerplay may yet be a point of difference that interests the selectors, but the man himself is not one to delve too deeply into the numbers.
"It's nice accolades to get, but to be honest I don't really pay too much attention to them," he said. "For me it's more about competing in the moment on a ball-by-ball basis and hopefully winning those battles will put my teams in good positions. My focus isn't really on the numbers, it's more about having fun."
After the Canberra match there will be some grade cricket for Green ahead of the new Big Bash season which begins on December 17. It is a chance for Green to spend some time on home soil and, briefly at least, unpack the suitcase but he is quite happy jetting around the globe.
"I've got pretty good at packing and unpacking, being home and settling in, that feeling when you sit down on the couch, is really nice. I can't complain at the moment, I really enjoy what I do, the opportunities I've been fortunate enough to get have been so much fun.
"The journey I've gone on has been unbelievable experience. I really feel that due to the high-pressure nature and fast pace that the way that T20 is it's really excelled my growth as a cricketer and a person. I still pinch myself on a day-to-day basis to be playing around the world."
After the six T20Is against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which begin in Adelaide on Sunday, Australia's next matches in the format will be after the Big Bash on tour in South Africa. That is followed by three more in New Zealand at the end of March.

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo