Many saw it coming yet many did not. Australia have decided to drop Mitchell Marsh for the final Test match against India to make way for the uncapped Beau Webster. Marsh has had a tough series both with the ball and the bat. Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy started, Marsh had been Australia’s highest run-getter this year, accumulating runs at a brilliant average of 41.07. He was expected to continue churning runs the same way in the all-important series too, however, as luck had it, Marsh failed to cross even double figures in all but one of the seven innings he batted in.
“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.” Australian captain Pat Cummins broke the news to the media at the pre-game conference.
In addition to his struggles with the bat, Mitchell Marsh was unable to contribute much with the ball. In four matches, he bowled just 33 overs, 17 of which came in the first game. While there has not been any official confirmation for that, the reports have it Marsh was not fully fit to bowl at full tilt. This led to an increase in the workload of Australia’s main pace trio, though the management and the skipper Cummins claim this was not the main reason he was dropped.
“Not necessarily. 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 the top order, [although] 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.”
The Australian captain made sure to put on record that this decision does not imply Mitchell Marsh’s time with the team is over, as people often make out of situations like this.
“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.” Pat Cummins said while speaking to the media. “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.”
Beau Webster brings along the experience of playing 93 First-class games. While his primary job with the team would be batting in the top six, he brings more than that to the table. With the short turnaround between the fourth and fifth Test matches, Australia would welcome any chance to take whatever they can off the main pacers’ plates. In this case, the presence of a proper fifth bowling option, in the form of Webster, would solve many of Cummins’ problems.
But Cummins reiterated Webster’s primary job will be to put runs on the scoreboard.
“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,” the Australian skipper believes he has plenty of bowling resources in his team.
Australian XI for the Sydney Test:
Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
