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Beau Webster's telling statement prompts calls for Aussie shake-up after Mitch Marsh concerns

Pat Cummins admitted Mitch Marsh's fitness is a concern heading into the second Test against India.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·4-min read

Aussie allrounder Beau Webster is seemingly knocking on the door of a Test debut as coach Andrew McDonald has raised concerns over Mitch Marsh's fitness. Australia is reeling after one of the nation's worst ever home defeats to India in the first Test in Perth.

Calls for Marnus Labuschagne to be dropped are growing with the No.3 averaging just 13.66 across his last five Tests. And to make matters worse for the Aussies, Marsh has pulled up sore after Perth.

Beau Webster walks off the field and Mitch Marsh talks to Marnus Labuschagne.
Aussie allrounder Beau Webster (pictured left) is seemingly knocking on the door of a Test debut as coach Andrew McDonald has raised concerns over Mitch Marsh's (pictured right) fitness. (Getty Images)

The allrounder has not been a regular bowler for Australia since his return to the starting XI in the Ashes. However, due to the absence of Cameron Green, Marsh was called upon to bowl 17 overs in the first Test.

And Cummins admitted the workload had taken a toll on the allrounder. On Tuesday evening, Aussie coach Andrew McDonald also claimed Marsh would be monitored leading into the second and third Test.

Beau Webster plays a shot.
Beau Webster (pictured) could be set to come into the Aussie team to play India if Mitch Marsh isn't fit.

“We knew that Mitch was slightly underdone coming in but I thought the performance in the first innings was satisfactory,” McDonald said when leaving Perth. However, calls are growing for Tasmanian allrounder Webster to come straight into the team.

Webster was one of the few standouts in the Australia A game against India having scored 33 and 61 not out in the first win. He then backed it up with figures of 3-49 in the second hit-out having also scored 46 not out in the second innings.

And in the Sheffield Shield clash this week, Webster has starred for Tasmania against New South Wales. Webster finished the first innings with 61 runs off 81 balls. He then took 3-81 having dismissed three of the top four in the order.

Webster will start the day's play on Wednesday 33 not out as Tasmania look to build on their lead of 252 runs. The 30-year-old is doing everything to make sure he is knocking down the door for a baggy green if Marsh can't back-up.

The Tasmanian was the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last summer and is averaging more than 60 in the current campaign. A number of Aussies are under pressure in the starting XI with Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith all underperforming across the last 12 months. Nathan McSweeney also fell short in his debut as an opener having fallen cheaply in both innings.

While it appears very unlikely there will be changes in the starting XI for the Adelaide Test, the player under the most pressure in the Aussie squad is Labuschagne. The No.3 batter is averaging just 30.28 in Test cricket since February last year.

In his last 10 innings, Labushcagne has scored 10, 1 not out, 3, 5, 1, 2, 90, 6, 2 and 3 for an average of just 13.66. However, coach Andrew McDonald has appeared to back the Queenslander to find his form in Adelaide.

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“We look at the way he plays, and when he’s at his best,” McDonald said. “And when we’ve seen him at his best he’s shown great intent at the crease.

“That’s an ongoing discussion and that ebbs and flows in players’ careers, so at the moment he’s in one of those patches and no doubt he’ll be getting critiqued externally. But internally we’re really confident that, at his best, he’s the player that we need.”

Mitchell Marsh walks off the field.
Mitchell Marsh (pictured) has pulled up sore after the first Test in Perth.