Australia are desperate to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and to book the remaining spot in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final as they have dropped Mitchell Marsh for the New Year's Test against India in Sydney. Marsh was unable to make useful contributions with either the bat or ball in hand and therefore Pat Cummins has left him out of Australia's playing XI for the fifth and final Test of the ongoing series against India.
Australia have drafted Tasmania's allrounder Beau Webster into their playing XI for the Sydney Test. Webster has played 93 first-class games and will be making his international debut in Sydney on Friday (January 3).
The Australia captain revealed that the decision to leave Marsh out was purely based on his form in the ongoing series.
"Mitchy (Mitchell Marsh), obviously hasn't quite got the runs, or perhaps the wickets that he would have liked this series," Cummins said during the pre-SCG Test press conference. "So we felt like it was time for a freshen and up, and Beau's been with the squad. He's been great. So it's a shame for Mitchy, because we know how much he brings to the team, but feel like now it's a good week for Beau to get a chance."
Cummins revealed that Marsh accepted the decision and expressed excitement about Webster's Test debut. Cummins also asserted that it's not the end of the road for Marsh in the red-ball format and the door is still wide ajar for him.
"He was totally understanding," Cummins said. "I think his words were, yeah, not necessarily blindsided. He knows he hasn't scored the runs or taken the wickets that he would have liked. So that makes you vulnerable. Really excited for Beau. The first thing he said, I can't wait to see Beau go out there and give it a crack.
"Particularly here in Australia, I think when a batter misses out or gets dropped it's always seen as a big thing, but it's not the case. The way that Ronnie (Andrew McDonald) and the selectors and myself look at it is, we love pulling a squad of players together who we think we can call on at different times. And we thought the time was right for Mitchy to have a freshen up and miss this one. But it doesn't mean that he won't be back in that team at some point."
Cummins also confirmed that Marsh has been largely left out due to the lack of runs under his belt rather than his inability to take wickets in the series.
"Not necessarily," Cummins mentioned. "We've spoken about it a lot. He was in the side this summer for being a top six batter. So that's generally a guiding principle when you pick in the top order, not always. I think when he's at his best, he gets in the side on his batting alone and his bowling is a bonus. Obviously, we've got guys like Cam Green who will be back in the mix at some point as well, who provide some other bowling options."
Webster has been finally rewarded for his outstanding run of form in the domestic circuit. The Tasmania all-rounder was the leading run-getter in the Sheffield Shield 2023-24 season. He amassed 938 runs in 11 matches at an impressive average of 58.62 with the help of three centuries and six fifties.
Cummins feels that Webster has the goods to score the runs at the number six spot and can also do the heavy lifting as the fourth seamer in the line-up.
"I think it's always nice to have kind of a fifth bowler. He bowls quite a lot for Tasmania. So if we need a call on that we can. I think firstly, if you're going to bat six, you've picked for your batting, which I think he's shown in the Shield over the last couple years, when he takes the game on, and he's really changed some games for Tasmania. But I'll sit down and work that out today. But I think particularly that pace bowling, Beau is going to be handy, and we've got obviously Nath (Lyon), but also Trav (Head) with some handy offers when needed."
