Australia have handed all-rounder Beau Webster a Test debut as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh. But Webster's journey been anything but straightforward – and owes much to a significant change he made during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Webster was called up to Australia's Test squad after they suffered the first blow in their ongoing Test series against India, losing by 295 runs in Perth before senior pace bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the second Test in Adelaide, and later the series, through injury.
The Tasmanian was initially meant to be cover for Australia's pace attack, and has played four Big Bash League matches during the series. A day ahead of the Sydney Test against India, Australia confirmed Webster would take Mitchell Marsh's place in the playing XI.
The most striking aspect of Webster's selection is this – he hadn't bowled pace until the Covid-19 lockdown hit.
How Webster added a new string to his Beau
Indian fans may have caught a glimpse of Webster during the two-match series between Australia A and India A ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He took 0-18 & 1-51 and scored 33 & 61* in the first match, following that up with 3-19 & 3-49 with the ball and 5 & 46* in the second game.
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At 202 cm tall, Webster looks perfectly at home running in and hitting the ball into the deck at a decent, if not breakneck, pace. But for most of his career, he was a middle-order batter who bowled some handy off-spin – which fetched him 44 first-class wickets in 47 matches at an average of 44.7 between 2014 and 2020.
But during the enforced lockdown as the Covid-19 virus spread across the world, Webster turned to pace bowling in an attempt to enhance his range as a cricketer. There was a second advantage as well – at his first-class team Tasmania's home ground of the Bellerive Oval, seamers often found more help than spinners.
In a conversation with cricket.com.au, Webster jokingly revealed how he thought of turning to pace during a game against Western Australia, as he watched part-timer Jake Doran dismiss Sam Whiteman in his very first over in first-class cricket: "I saw Doran beat the bat a couple of times against WA and I thought, 'Gee, if I can't do this, I should give it up here and now.'
"I thought from that moment on, next pre-season, I'll give it a go."
Webster worked on his fitness alongside coach Adam Griffith and gradually increased his bowling workload prior to the 2020/21 domestic season, and the shift has clearly paid off.
Since the 2020/21 season, Webster has taken 104 wickets in 46 first-class matches at an average of 34. In the 2023/24 Sheffield Shield, the 30-year-old put in a spectacular performance, racking up 938 runs and 30 wickets – the second-best Shield season ever after Garry Sobers' 973 runs and 47 wickets for South Australia in 1963-64. He was voted player of the season, and even had his own fielding highlights reel put together by Cricket Australia.
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He has begun the 2024/25 season in style as well, with 303 runs and nine wickets in four Sheffield Shield matches so far. Webster also returned figures of 6-17 in the One-Day Cup against a star-studded Western Australia outfit, helping trigger a collapse of eight wickets for just one run.
Webster has continued to practice his off-spin in the nets, admitting that it could still come in handy in white-ball cricket for Tasmania and in the Big Bash League. For now, though, a Test debut will be foremost in Webster's mind – and his bowling could prove to be a useful weapon for Australia.
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