Green's relief at first home Test ton that silenced critics

A slight slip at the non-striker's end from a "way too excited" Cameron Green and a full-stretch dive from Nathan Lyon.

The two-year Test century drought was over in that moment. Against Bangladesh in Darwin, Green's first hundred on home soil silenced the naysayers.  

Rather than celebrate the moment, Green breathed a sigh of relief.

Australia's lead was only 43 runs when he kissed the coat of arms on his helmet and saluted the crowd, with the West Australian falling shortly after to a ball that kept low.

But after being dismissed for a run-a-ball 13 in the first innings, the 27-year-old was content to contribute in a substantial way in the second.

"Yeah, it felt great," Green told cricket.com.au after Bangladesh's historic nine-wicket win.

"That's the tough thing about cricket. You get judged heavily on the results, and I walked off (in the first dig), even though it was a low score, pretty happy about how it felt out there, especially (considering) we hadn't played a red-ball fixture in a long time."

Green resumed the fourth day on 43 alongside Alex Carey, the pair Australia's best chance of salvaging a result in Darwin. Despite the outside noise regarding his position in the playing XI, Green had a sense of calm. 

"When you play Test cricket, I feel like there's a lot of sleepless nights," the 27-year-old said.

"I've been waking up at two or three AM consistently, but luckily, getting back to sleep."

But that's not to say he hasn't felt the pressure.

Speaking to Fox Cricket's Adam Gilchrist after his century, he acknowledged the proverbial 'wolves at the door'.

"I think especially when you play for Australia, you've always have to perform, so it's nice to get a performance."

A drop-in pitch that deteriorated to show signs of becoming two-paced and providing turn meant this was not a free-flowing innings. He waited for over-pitched or wide balls to score, with his driving in the 'V' a highlight of his 201-ball stay. Yet his five-hour grinding knock included only four fours and one magnificent six, a brutal pull shot off pacer Taskin Ahmed.

Green's three Test centuries have now come at No.4, No.5 and No.6 in the batting order, underlining how he hasn't been afforded to settle into one position for a long period of time.

He batted at No.3 on the tour to the West Indies last year and found himself back to No.6 (and at times No.7) during the Ashes last summer.

Yet despite his "impressive" ton at Marrara Stadium, captain Pat Cummins couldn't guarantee he would stay at No.5 for the foreseeable.

"I'm not huge for batting orders, but I'm sure he'll get an extended run somewhere," Cummins told reporters after play. "I thought he was really impressive.

"He controlled his innings …  he looked in total command of his skills out there, he just needed one or two of us to bat alongside him.

"The last Ashes series probably didn't go as well as he would have liked. But before that, (on) that West Indian tour he was probably our best batter in really tough circumstances.

"We think very highly of Cam so it was great seeing him go out there today and show the rest of the world how good he is."

NRMA Insurance Bangladesh Test series

First Test: Bangladesh beat Australia by nine wickets in Darwin

Second Test: August 22-26, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 10am (local)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Chowdhury, Shoriful Islam, Musfik Hasan