Tasmania will begin their Sheffield Shield campaign against Queensland without Beau Webster after the all-rounder rolled an ankle in training. State staff say the issue is “nothing major”, yet they have opted for caution, ruling him out of Saturday’s match and pencilling in a fresh assessment before Thursday’s Marsh One-Day Cup fixture against the same opponents.
Should all go well, Webster could return for the second Shield round, at home to Western Australia on 15 October. That small window matters. The 31-year-old has targeted all four pre-Christmas Shield matches as preparation for an Ashes summer in which his Test spot is under gentle scrutiny.
He has begun his Test career soundly—four half-centuries in seven appearances, often on dicey pitches—yet selection talk persists. Cameron Green, expected to resume full-throttle bowling before the Ashes, could shuffle the batting order. If selectors keep Green at No. 3, where he finished strongly against West Indies, Webster may still slot in at No. 6. Should Green ultimately drop back into the middle order, competition tightens.
“It’s one thing that’s coming up a lot is obviously Greeney’s back bowling and I’ve got my chance, I suppose, through him being a batter only,” Webster told ESPNcricinfo last week. “He was an allrounder for Australia for years before that along with Mitch [Marsh] and, when I answer the question, I’d love to see both of us in the team. If you’re scoring runs in the top six batters for Australia if you can bowl it’s a bonus.”
“Absolutely I’d love to play in a team with Greeney. He’s a fantastic batter. I really hope he bangs it out of the park at the top of the order and I can stay at No. 6 and we can both contribute with the ball and in the field and win games for Australia.”
Before turning his ankle, Webster enjoyed a lively domestic start: five wickets from two List-A outings and a brisk 81 from 95 deliveries against Victoria. Tasmania will miss that dual skill set this week; equally, they know one stray step in October is preferable to a lingering concern come Ashes time.
