Jackson Barrett: Cam Green’s latest batting hiccup leaves West Australian under the pump in West Indies series

Australia wants Cam Green to succeed. Selectors want him to succeed at No.3.

But the West Australian has now used five of the eight opportunities he has between his return to Test cricket and this summer’s Ashes series, to convince everyone he is the right man for that job.

And his biggest problem now is the No.6 position he would likely be most comfortable in, is occupied by Australia’s most in-form player, Beau Webster.

Green’s latest hiccup came as part of another top-order wobble against the West Indies on the opening day of the second Test in Grenada.

All of Green, Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja — the three Australian batters under examination — failed to go on with making a start at St George’s on Thursday night (Perth time).

On his return, Steve Smith failed to make a start at all and watched a top-edge fly to the boundary for just three.

It leaves us no closer to knowing how Australia will line-up in the first Test against England on home soil at the end of November.

Green made 26 — the best score since he returned to the side in the World Test Championship final — but his dismissal was uncharacteristically brash.

The all-rounder was dropped in the final over before lunch on day one, but just balls later, played an identical booming drive to be caught in the gully with the very last delivery before the break.

It speaks to a cluttered mind.

There are pressures on the No.3 batter that have passed down generations of Australian teams. They were always the best batter in the side, think Victor Trumper, Don Bradman, Ian Chappell, Ricky Ponting. They are meant to be the hard-nosed leader that steers a team through an innings.

In reality, the best players in the world bat further down the order. Think Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Joe Root.

Early evidence suggests Green is not suited to the position because he pushes his hands at the ball and his feet are unsettled, made to dance by a swinging new ball and genuine pace.

Marnus Labuschagne has had to wait until teammates finish to be put through the regime he hopes will return him to the side, while Nathan McSweeney and other candidates, including Jason Sangha and Jake Weatherald, will have the start of the domestic summer to make their case to bat in the top order.

Green’s biggest problem ahead of the Ashes is that what was considered his safety net position in the middle order is now the engine room of the batting unit and Webster — the incumbent all-rounder — has fast emerged as Australia’s Mr. Fix It.

Webster scored 60, in tandem with Alex Carey’s 63, to breathe some life into the visitors’ first-innings score of 286.

It takes the Tasmanian’s average closer to 50. He has made handy-enough contributions with the ball across his first five Tests and his fielding has been immaculate.

In seven months, he has gone from a Sheffield Shield stalwart, to an indispensable member of the Test side.

In November, he will seriously test Australia’s commitment to Green.