FEATURES
Follow UsMitchell Marsh’s poor run of form finally saw him being left out for Tasmanian allrounder Beau Webster, who has been travelling with the Australian side since the Perth Test. Webster is all set to debut in the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, beginning January 3.
Webster, who turned 31 in December 2024, has earned his spot in the Australian Test side on the back of one of the best Sheffield Shield seasons in history. He scored 938 runs with the bat and also picked 30 wickets in the 2023/24 Sheffield Shield for Tasmania, becoming just the second player to score 900 runs and take 30 wickets in the competition's 131-year history.
Only Sir Garfield Sobers, considered one of the best all-rounders to have played the game, achieved this feat in 1963/64 when he scored 973 runs and took 47 wickets in the competition.
What’s more fascinating about Webster is that he wasn’t always a pace bowler. He became a full-fledged pace bowling allrounder as recently as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when he left his part-time off-spin behind. Hence, he can brag about one more point of similarity with the great Sobers to his friends, who love to call him Garfield after he puts up an exceptional all-round performance.
Producing a first-class season of such quality after just four years of becoming a pacer shows the innate desire to get better in the 31-year-old, who was also a probable Australian Football League (AFL) player, as he played for the Tassie Mariners at the under-18 level before shifting to cricket.
Webster’s performances since 2020 have been right up there with the best in the Shield. He has smashed 2602 runs, including seven centuries since the 2020/21 season at an average of 46 (one of the best in the period), and only Cameron Bancroft, Sam Whiteman, and Peter Handscomb have scored more Sheffield Shield runs than him.
Meanwhile, his 104 wickets since 2020 make him the only player amongst the top 15 bowlers and batters in the past five seasons.
His stellar first-class performances also earned him the call-up to the really strong Prime Minister XI that played Pakistan last year and recently for Australia A against India A. The tall pacer was one of the most lethal bowlers on display and picked seven wickets at an average of 19.57. He also scored 145 runs with a highest of 61* in four innings at an average of 72.5.
In the Big Bash League, he plays for the Melbourne Stars and has 1,463 runs at a strike rate of 119.2 and average of 28.13. With the ball, he has 18 wickets at an economy of 7.26.
With Cameron Green injured, Webster emerged as the primary candidate to play as his backup after Marsh floundered with the opportunities dished out to him in the series.
