Webster, Konstas debuts give Aussie selectors the last laugh
Australian selectors can sit back and bask in another series victory, but huge doubts remain over the future of the ageing team.
COMMENT
Former NFL coach Herm Edwards famously quipped “you play to win the game” and that is what this current Australian Test cricket team has done in spades in recent years.
Yet while the trophy cabinet is undeniably bulging after Pat Cummins’ side finally secured the missing link, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back after a 10-year hiatus, the winning hasn’t come without controversy and plenty of warranted question marks.
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Heading into the first Test in Perth, the naysayers were growing over an ageing side that many felt desperately needed a rebuild.
Yes the Ashes had been retained — just — and a first World Test Championship mace was safely in Cricket Australia’s keeping, but some of the victories still left plenty to be desired.
Last summer featured a highly unconvincing 1-1 Test series draw against a West Indies side that has plummeted in relevance in the longest form of the sport.
That came after the Aussies struggled at times to put away another lowly Pakistan side in a series that was closer than the 3-0 scoreline suggests.
The team was also a rainy day in Manchester away from being in significant trouble to retain those Ashes back in July.
The doubters grew louder after Australia was humbled by India by 295 runs in the first Test in Perth before a number of factors allowed the hosts to turn the series around.
Among the persistent criticisms have been concerns over Cummins’ captaincy style, the perceived boys’ club of players that are seemingly untouchable, plus any youngster that gets a chance is often quickly discarded and never heard from again.
Despite an extended run of poor form with the willow, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith were backed by chief selector George Bailey and his team.
After David Warner’s protracted exit, Nathan McSweeney was thrown into the cauldron and quickly labelled a future skipper in waiting, until he was shown the door after three Tests having struggled against the best bowler in the world, Jasprit Bumrah.
Meanwhile Mitch Marsh, a beloved member of the team and reigning Allan Border Medallist who was clearly limited and could barely bowl, survived four Test matches before finally making way after 73 runs at an average a tick over 10 and three wickets.
There was also a first Test controversy when Josh Hazlewood intimated a divide between the bowling and batting units of the squad.
But the proof is in the pudding and some key moves were made over the course of the series.
Barely out of high school, Sam Konstas was thrust into an opening role and stamped his name on the series with a swashbuckling half-century amid repeated stare downs and audacious ramp shots off Bumrah.
He is still yet to prove himself, but like McSweeney could have been before him, Konstas deserves a chance to shine now he has been handed his baggy green.
Then came one of the most important moves, finally dropping Marsh for the fifth Test and picking Beau Webster, a battle-hardened 31-year-old coming off a number of strong domestic seasons for Tasmania.
Webster, who has the nickname of Slug and hails from the tiny Tassie town of Snug, waltzed onto the SCG and immediately showed he belongs at this level, with his confident batting, assured slips fielding and ability to hold down an end with the ball.
This kid Beau Webster might well be the most fundamentally correct batsman that Australia has debuted in a long time … Such a pleasure to watch a batsman respect the basics like this bloke obviously does … Where’s he been all this time?
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) January 5, 2025
The Slug from Snug, Beau Webster was A-grade with the bat on a tricky deck. Played & missed his fair share, put away the bad ones. Didn’t look flustered at all in a high-stakes game. The way he played, you wouldn’t have known he was on debut. Very good selection. #AUSvIND
— Andrew Wu (@wutube) January 4, 2025
The selectors may also have been handed another crucial nugget when Hazlewood succumbed to injury, gifting Scott Boland another chance at Test level.
The quietly spoken quick responded with 21 wickets in three Tests at an average of 13.19, only a hair behind player of the series Bumrah’s 13.06 across five matches, with Boland taking his first 10-wicket haul in Sydney.
Some of the moves were forced, others were more considered, and ultimately Bailey can sit back, flash that toothy grin and feel his team pulled all the right reins.
Yet Australia was a Bumrah back injury from potentially walking away with another drawn series, just like last year’s Ashes, which would have left that prized Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indian keeping until at least 2027.
That’s when Australia will head back to India for the next clash of these two Titans.
Before that, there is an away Test series against Sri Lanka, another World Test Championship final, this time against South Africa, and a home Ashes series against the Old Enemy.
Smith’s two tons in the series proved he still has some petrol left in the tank, but Khawaja and particularly Labuschagne ended this series with plenty of queries remaining.
There are also concerns over the brilliant but ageing Hazlewood and Starc, while Boland is older than all of the other frontline quicks.
The trophies might be secure, but the work is far from done if the Australian Test side intends to remain at the head of the world cricket table.
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