Beau Webster got his first Test cap nearly a month after he turned 31. The 30s are not very kind to you if you are a cricketer, especially in a country like Australia. Webster does not seem unaware of this. He knows if he wants to stay in contention for Ashes selection, he will have to earn that opportunity.
Not that he has not already created a stir with his performances, having scored three half-centuries and taken eight wickets at an average of 23.25 in the seven Test matches he has played thus far, most of these contributions coming when the team needed them desperately. However, with Cameron Green likely to return to the middle order once he is all fit to start bowling, Webster might not remain the first choice anymore, or so he fears.
“When you’re at the top level, you’re fighting to hang on to your spot,” Webster said.
“With all the wonderful cricketers around the country, and especially a guy like Cameron Green, he batted at the top of the order [in the West Indies], and didn’t bowl. He’s obviously going to be back bowling this summer, which is going to put a bit more pressure on my spot at No. 6 as the allrounder. But I welcome it.
“I feel like I’ve been in this position before a lot in my career, where I’ve got to score runs to either go to the next level or stay on the team. It’s certainly not unfamiliar. I’m looking forward to once again showing what I can do at [Sheffield] Shield level, and hopefully, be lining up in that first Ashes Test in Perth. It’s going to be a massive summer. I’m sure the team’s going to change a little bit throughout those five Tests. I’m just going to do everything I can to make sure I’m there for all five.”
There is plenty about the squad that depends on how the first few rounds of the Sheffield Shield go this year. Australia still have to figure out who their opener will be when England visits them for the series. Webster, too, will get the verdict based on whether he can continue replicating his incredible form in the Shield. His short county stint with Warwickshire, where he scored a fifty and a ton and took six wickets across two games, implies he has nothing to lose sleep over.
“It’s going to be an intriguing first couple of rounds with potentially all the big boys playing a few of the Shield games, too,” Webster said. “There’s going to be some really strong Shield teams out there, which only promotes better cricket. So it’s going to be exciting for our boys to line up against a number of Test cricketers in the first couple of rounds as well.
“It’s always exciting when the team’s not quite settled, and there’s a few opportunities for people to put their hand up and try and get a spot in that first squad.”
The hundred for Warwickshire took his first-class hundreds tally to 13, but he is yet to get into triple figures in Test cricket. Most of his international runs in the format came in tough conditions, but he believes he is not far from etching a brilliant summer with the form he is in.
“I feel like I’ve scored some tough runs,” he said. “At the same time, there’s no hundred next to my name, which I would have loved to go on with one of those [half-centuries]. I felt like I was batting as good as I have done in a number of those innings. I feel like I’ve got all the tools to succeed this summer in the Ashes with what England are going to potentially bring.”
