SYDNEY (Reuters) – Uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster has been called into the Australia squad for the five-test series against India as precautionary injury cover for Mitchell Marsh.
Marsh bowled 17 overs in Australia’s humiliating loss by 295 runs in the series opener in Perth on Monday and pulled up sore afterwards, calling into doubt his fitness for next week’s day-night test in Adelaide.
Webster has been in fine form for Tasmania in Sheffield Shield and shone for Australia A against their Indian counterparts before the test series. He will join the squad in Adelaide next week, the team said on Thursday.
The tall 30-year-old, who until 2020 offered off-spin to supplement his batting, breathed new life into his career when he spent a COVID lockdown learning how to bowl medium pace.
Webster, who has scored 5,297 runs at an average of 37.83 and taken 148 wickets in first class cricket, was last year’s Sheffield Shield player of the year.
Australia are already without another regular all-rounder in Cameron Green, who was ruled out of the India series after opting to have surgery on a stress fracture in his lumbar spine.
The second test starts at Adelaide Oval on Dec. 6.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
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