Marnus cops fresh blow as Aussie rival sends telling message to Test selectors

Yahoo

04-05-2025

Beau Webster has provided a huge statement to Australian cricket selectors that he deserves a spot in next month's World Test Championship final, with a superb batting display on his county debut for Warwickshire in England. Playing on a tricky Headingley pitch, the Aussie all-rounder's counter-attacking knock of 85 runs off 86 balls helped his side overtake Yorkshire's first innings total of 205 and take a 48-run lead. And it surely puts even more pressure on Marnus Labuschagne to hang onto his spot in Australia's Test XI after his struggles with the bat in red-ball cricket.
With the WTC final to be played against South Africa at Lord's next month, Webster's innings could not have come at a much better time as he looks to cement a spot in the Aussie side. Cameron Green also gave national selectors plenty to think about with a stunning unbeaten century on debut for Gloucestershire in the second division of the county championship last month, before he had to retire with cramp.
But after a long layoff following back surgery last year, Green's injury return comes as a specialist batter only, while Webster also offers another seam bowling option for the Aussies. But on the 31-year-old's debut knock for Warwickshire, it was Webster's bat that did the talking as he helped haul in Yorkshire's first innings total with some big-hitting to continue his impressive form this year.
Webster's pre-lunch assault came at almost a run a ball and he was largely responsible for getting the side to a total of 253 after starting the day on 32. The Aussie reached his half-century off 54 balls, and took a shine to the wayward pace bowling of fellow Aussie debutant Jordan Buckingham, cracking him for five boundaries as the Yorkshire quick ended with grim figures of 1-84 off his 11 overs.
When Yorkshire skipper and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow moved up to the stumps for Ben Coad's medium pace deliveries, Webster had the audacity to scoop him straight over Bairstow's shoulder for six. The Tasmanian dominated a 74-run eighth-wicket partnership with wicketkeeper Kai Smith, before holing out to midwicket with a century in sight after seeing a succession of batting partners come and go.
𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗽? 𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 🤩Beau Webster wastes no time after Bairstow comes up to the stumps.Live Stream 📺 https://t.co/v9n6xr9g7m🐻#YouBears | #YORvWAR pic.twitter.com/LPS5n9odth
— Bears 🏏 (@WarwickshireCCC) May 3, 2025
Beau Webster is batting on a entirely different pitch altogether. What a memorable debut for Warwickshire 👏👏
— Max Cady From Cape Fear (@patrikbateman62) May 3, 2025
Just like many Aussies in this County season, Beau Webster made an immediate impact on debut. In a low-scoring match where no other batter across both innings managed a fifty so far, he stood out with a counterattacking 85 off 86 balls while batting at No. 7... pic.twitter.com/HDEMm0xMou
— Abhishek AB (@ABsay_ek) May 3, 2025
"To get to that first-innings lead was really important. It was touch and go, but Beau played brilliantly on a track like that," Warwickshire's Ed Barnard said. Webster's new teammate watched the powerful striker hitting 13 fours and a six to propel the side into their first innings lead.
Webster didn't fare as well with the ball, finishing with 0-50 off 11 overs in Yorkshire's second knock, but of all the batters on view, only England great Joe Root could get anywhere near his score, eventually being dismissed for 90 out of the home side's 232 all out. The Aussie looks set to be called on to bat again, with Warwickshire needing 170 more to win on Sunday with all 10 wickets in hand.
Webster and Green are both locked in a hotly contested battle for a spot in Australia's Test side, and their recent feats with the bat in county cricket won't do their causes any harm. Marnus Labuschagne appears to be the man most under threat in Australia's batting order, with position under growing scrutiny after a lean couple of years with the willow.
Labuschagne only averaged 25.36 with the bat across the summer after a largely disappointing series against India and then again in Sri Lanka. That came after an equally underwhelming previous year for Labuschagne, where he averaged just 27.08 across the summer of 2023/24.
Despite returning to the Sheffield Shield to find form, Labuschagne failed to light up the competition with scores of 23, 0 and 61 in his three innings. The Test No.3 was powerless to help Queensland in the Shield final as they went down to South Australia.
And with Green's immediate return to the runs and Webster's latest statement in county cricket, calls could grow louder for Labuschagne to be replaced in the Test side for the WTC final against South Africa. Potentially working in Labuschagne's favour is the fact it's a one-off match and selectors may be reluctant to make too many changes to the batting order but the form of his rivals makes it a nervous wait for the 30-year-old.
with AAP