Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Allrounder Beau Webster insists his number one asset is being one of Australia’s top batters, which is why he is determined to hold his place in the Test team whether Cameron Green is in it or not.
The 32-year-old suggested he is likely to bat at No.7 in the first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin, which would likely position fellow allrounder Green at No.5 and wicketkeeper Alex Carey at No.6.
Webster’s five Test fifties in eight Tests at an average of 41.09 confirm why he is in the team, but throw in his 11 wickets at 24.54 and the value he offers becomes clear.
When asked whether he regards himself as one of best six or seven batters in the country, with his bowling a bonus, Green was emphatic.
“I’d like to think so,” he said.
“I forced my way into this team through weight of runs and obviously some wickets on the back of that. But primarily as a batter you deal in runs and over the last five years that’s been my way into the team and the way to stay in the team.
“What I have done in my first eight Tests with the bat has probably showed that I can be considered as a genuine top six batter.
“If I don’t bowl for a few Test matches because we are ripping through top orders … I am more than happy to just bat and hold my place in the team that way and contribute to some wins.”
Webster told AAP at the start of last summer that he believed there was room for himself and Green in the Test team.
They played together in the fifth Test of the Ashes series where Webster showed his class in making an unbeaten 71, in the unfamiliar position of No.9.
In the next 12 months Australia will play 21 Tests if they make the World Test Championship final. Webster insists the duo can be a long-term option in the same Test team.
“Absolutely. I don’t see why not,” he said.
“It is surely more of a benefit to have more options in that top seven with the ball. I certainly don’t see it as a direct competition.
“It adds more options and more benefits for the captain if we are both performing with the bat, which is probably both of our main skill, and what we can offer in the field.”
There is an element of “a battle within a battle” with regard to selection. Webster has performed well but then had to wait his turn to get back in the side.
“I am just happy doing my job and making myself hard to leave out of the 11, whether that is with the ball or ball,” he said.
“It so happens we are both allrounders and both primarily batters. I am sure you guys are going to draw that comparison but if we are both scoring runs in that top seven I’d like (us) to be seen as batters who can bowl rather than that allrounder debate.”
The 200cm giant will regard the Test that starts on Thursday as a kind of home game, given he previously played in Darwin.
“I did a couple of seasons up here five or six years ago. It’s a lovely place to play in the winter …and I enjoyed my cricket,” he said.
