 "Akash Deep ruled out of Sydney Test; Australia hand Beau Webster debut after axing Mitchell Marsh")
Both Australia and India made changes to their lineup for the fifth and final Test in Sydney starting Friday. While India pacer Akash Deep was ruled out of the ‘Pink Test’ with a back issue, with head coach Gautam Gambhir not naming his replacement in the XI right away, Australia opted to hand Beau Webster his international debut after benching out-of-form all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Akash, who had made his debut during the Test series against England at home last year, had finishes with five wickets in two matches at an average of 54 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, including a haul of 2/28 in the second innings in Brisbane as India reduced Australia to 89/7. The 28-year-old Bihar-born Bengal pacer had conceded 94 runs while collecting two wickets in the first innings in Melbourne before going wicketless in the hosts’ second essay, this time leaking 53 runs.
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India, who are trailing Australia 1-2 after losing a hard-fought fourth Test in Melbourne by 184 runs , could end up giving Harshit Rana a third appearance in his debut international series or bring Prasidh Krishna into the XI for the first time.
Marsh axed after series of poor outings
Marsh, meanwhile, was finally axed after a series of poor performances. The 33-year-old had scored just 73 runs in seven outings across the first four Tests at an average of 10.42 and had not collected a wicket since the series opener in Perth.
Tasmania’s Webster, who has a total of 93 First-Class appearances in a domestic career spanning 10 years, comes in as a like-for-like replacement for Marsh as a seam-bowling all-rounder. Not only was the 31-year-old the leading run-scorer in the 2023-24 season of the Sheffield Shield with 938 runs at an average of 58.62, he also collected 30 wickets at 29.30.
In the past four Shield seasons, Beau Webster is averaging 51 with the bat, taken 64 wickets at 37 with the ball. At the age of 31, he’s as ready as he’ll ever be for Test cricket.
— Andrew Wu (@wutube) January 2, 2025
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn the process, Webster became only the second player in the history of Australia’s premier First-Class competition after legendary West Indian all-rounder Garfield Sobers to scored 900 or more runs and collect 30 or more wickets in a season.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins confirmed the change on the eve of the ‘Pink Test’ at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
“Mitchy, obviously hasn’t quite got the runs, or perhaps the wickets that he would have liked this series. So we felt like it was time for a freshening 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 told reporters on Thursday.
‘He was totally understanding’
Pacer-captain Cummins added that Marsh wasn’t surprised by the decision and took the news of getting dropped fairly maturely while adding that he was excited to see Webster in action.
“He was totally understanding. 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.”
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Cummins added that while Marsh was primarily included in the top six to shore up the batting, especially in the absence of fellow all-rounder Cameron Green, Webster has been included primarily for his superior bowling skills, especially with the likes of Travis Head and Steve Smith scoring the big runs.
“That was definitely a factor. Short turnaround. I think it’s always nice to have kind of a fifth bowler. He bowls quite a lot for Tasmania. So if we need to call on that we can. I think firstly, if you’re going to bat six, you’re picked for your batting, which I think he’s shown in the Shield over the last couple years, when he takes the game on 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 offies when needed,” Cummins added.
Pacer Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, has been declared fit for the final Test that gets underway less than 24 hours from now.
Australia XI: Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
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