Australia allrounder Beau Webster returns from injury for Tasmania with plenty on the line but his simple and clear mindset will be a trusty friend, as it has in the past.
The 31-year-old wants to retain his No.6 position for the first Test against England in Perth next month but has not played any Sheffield Shield cricket this season due to a rolled ankle.
After returning to bowling and sprinting in the past fortnight, Webster will play against Victoria in the Shield clash at Junction Oval starting on Tuesday.
In seven Tests, Webster has a batting average of 34.63, including four half-centuries, and bowling average of 23.25.
That’s a very impressive start but with Marnus Labuschagne set to return to the top of the Test order and allrounder Cameron Green also in the frame to be retained, Webster has a challenge to keep his spot.
One thing is for sure, the pressure won’t get to him, as he explained to AAP at a media day with the Test squad recently.
“(Pressure) doesn’t faze me because I have developed a game plan with my batting and preparation that has been very consistent over the last four or five years,” Webster said.
“It has coincided with my best and most consistent years. I have taken that into Test cricket.
“I remember arriving at my first net session for Australia at the SCG and Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne were in the nets. I was facing Scotty Boland and Mitch Starc.
“Our (Australia ) batting coach Mike Di Venuto came up to me and said, ‘There is going to be a lot going on here – guys hitting for an hour, guys hitting for 10 minutes and media behind you watching everything. My biggest advice is whatever you have done the last three years, just keep doing that’.”
That wisdom bore fruit with Webster rescuing Australia from 4-39 in the first innings of the fifth Test against India on debut last summer with a composed 57. He backed that up with 39no in the second dig to secure a hard-fought series win.
Webster worked hard to turn himself from a top-order batter who bowled offspin into a genuine allrounder, only bowling medium pace rather than spin.
He has become more consistent and dangerous with the ball and far more prolific with the bat.
“The message for me in Test cricket was that there was no need to change just because I had stepped up a level,” Webster said.
“My game is pretty simple. I try and defend the stumps when it is there and when it is off them I try and score.
“As a No.6 batter I think you have always got to push the scoreboard along, whether it is a 4-50 situation like at Sydney when I debuted where you try and counterpunch, or when you are trying to really drive it into a team after the top-order boys have done the job.
“It is a role I am very familiar with and have been comfortable with the last five years.”
Webster’s spot in the Test team is likely to depend on whether selectors feel comfortable opening with Labuschagne or want him at No.3, which could force Cameron Green down into Webster’s No.6 spot.
Webster did tell AAP that he believed there was room for both himself and Green.
“Hopefully I can keep scoring runs and be really hard to displace from that No.6 spot,” he said.
“At the moment I am looking forward to try and get some runs for Tasmania and hopefully line up in that first Test in Perth.”
https://thewest.com.au/sport/cricket/websters-clear-mindset-key-to-securing-ashes-test-spot-c-20485632
