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Australia are set to add 30-year-old uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster as cover for the injured Mitchell Marsh ahead of the second Australia-India Test in Adelaide.
According to a report in NewsCorp, Webster, the Tasmanian all-rounder who made his first-class debut in 2014, is set to be added as cover for Mitchell Marsh, who could in doubt for the second Test, at Adelaide.
Captain Pat Cummins had hinted that after the first Test match, at Perth, that Marsh was sore towards the end of the game, and will be monitored over the next ten days. “He (has been) battling a couple of little niggles since the UK tour,” Cummins said.
“So the main thing is he’s in there as one of the top six batters in the country and bowling is a bonus. He was a little bit sore towards the end of this Test match. In the next 10 days, chance to freshen up try and get it right. We’ll see how he goes. Ideally, he would be able to bowl in each Test match.”
There’s ample gap between the first and the second Test, with over ten days left before the first ball is bowled in Adelaide.
Who else but Beau Webster!
Tasmania get their first W of the #SheffieldShield season! pic.twitter.com/EOqiQqAj9f
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 27, 2024
Webster has played 93 first-class games so far, scoring 5,297 runs at 37.83 with 12 hundreds. He’s also taken 148 wickets at 37.39. He’s known to bowl both off-spin and pace, having learned the second variation after practising during the Covid-19 lockdown. Standing at 1.94 metres, Webster took the decision to maximise the benefits of his height.
He initially batted in the top three in the Sheffield Shield, before moving down the order as an aggressive option. In Tasmania’s latest game, he batted at No.6, scoring 61 in 89 balls and 49 in 72, also taking five wickets in the match as the first- and second-change bowler.
He was also part of Australia A’s matches against India A earlier this month, remaining unbeaten in the second innings in both wins, while taking two three-fors in Melbourne.
On Tuesday, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald had indicated that the same 13 from the Perth Test will be retained for Adelaide as well. As a fifth bowling option, Webster would be a ready replacement for Marsh, who bowled more than 10 overs in Perth, for the first time in 16 Test innings.
Australia lost the first Test by 295 runs, trailing the five-Test series 0-1. The second Test, a day/night game, begins in Adelaide on December 6.
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