Marsh’s place in the side was under the microscope after a lean series with both bat and ball. He had scored just 73 runs at 10.42 across the first four Tests, with 47 of those coming in the second innings in Perth when the game was long gone. With the ball he had bowled just 33 overs across seven innings in the series (discounting the brief second innings in Brisbane), and since claiming 2 for 12 in the first innings of the series he had figures of 1 for 127 from his last 28 overs.
In four games this season he has scored 303 runs at 50.50, including a century and a half-century, and has taken nine wickets at 37.88 in 96.5 overs across four matches. He has also taken 6 for 17 in a Dean Jones Trophy 50-over match for Tasmania and made an unbeaten half-century for Australia A against India A in the first four-day Mackay and took two three-wicket hauls in the second in Melbourne.
“Mitchy, obviously hasn’t quite got the runs, or perhaps the wickets that he would have liked this series,” Cummins said on Thursday at his pre-Test press conference. “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.”
Marsh’s popularity within the team, and his close personal friendship with Cummins would not have made the decision easy for the captain or the selectors. But Cummins said Marsh was not surprised by the decision and was very accepting of it.
“He was totally understanding,” Cummins said. “I think his words were, yeah, not necessarily blindsided. He knows he hasn’t scored the runs or taken the wickets that he would have liked. So that makes you vulnerable. Really excited for Beau. The first thing he said, I can’t wait to see Beau go out there and give it a crack.
“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. 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.”
Cummins was asked whether Marsh needed to contribute more with the ball if he was to earn a recall but the skipper said that his batting is the main priority.
“Not necessarily,” he said. “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.”
“That was definitely a factor,” Cummins said. “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.”
Cummins said he hadn’t had a lot to do with Webster prior to him joining the squad after the first Test of this series. But he has been impressed with his performances for Tasmania and Australia A where he made scores of 33, 61*, 5 and 46* and took figures of 0 for 18, 1 for 51, 3 for 19 and 3 for 49 in the two wins over India A in Mackay and Melbourne ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“He’s just been a one of those star performance for Tasmania with the bat or ball, or in the field,” Cummins said. “He always seems to have a big impact. Quite aggressive. Can change the game, like we’ve seen Mitch Marsh or Trav Head, or Alex Carey do in that middle order. And he’s been a great personality around the squad. Even day five there in Melbourne he was itching to get on the field. It’s going to be awesome to see him debut. Really love what he brought to the squad so far.”
Australia XI for the fifth Test: Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
