Uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster has been called into the Australia squad for the five-Test series against India as precautionary injury cover for Mitchell Marsh.
Marsh bowled 17 overs in Australia's humiliating loss by 295 runs in the series opener in Perth on Monday and pulled up sore afterwards, calling into doubt his fitness for next week's day-night Test in Adelaide.
Webster has been in fine form for Tasmania in Sheffield Shield and shone for Australia A against their Indian counterparts before the test series. He will join the squad in Adelaide next week, the team said on Thursday.
The tall 30-year-old, who until 2020 offered off-spin to supplement his batting, breathed new life into his career when he spent a COVID lockdown learning how to bowl medium pace.
Webster, who has scored 5,297 runs at an average of 37.83 and taken 148 wickets in first class cricket, was last year's Sheffield Shield player of the year.
In the Sheffield Shield over the past two years, the 30-year-old has collected 1788 runs including five hundreds and nine fifties.
He starred in Tasmania's Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales earlier this week, striking a 61 and 49 besides taking five wickets.
"To get a few runs and wickets (for Australia A) was pleasing against a strong Indian side," Webster was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au ahead of the announcement on Thursday.
"Any time you're playing 'A' cricket, it's the one step below Test level, so it does hold you in good stead. To get the call from 'Bails' (men's selection chair George Bailey) at the end of the NSW game was a really proud moment and I can't wait to get stuck in.
"There's a tight turnaround between the Adelaide and Gabba Test so I think (I'm there) just to have some cover there for that middle-order role, whichever way they go," he added.
Australia are already without another regular all-rounder in Cameron Green, who was ruled out of the India series after opting to have surgery on a stress fracture in his lumbar spine.
Despite the disappointing show in the series opener coach Andrew McDonald had asserted that there will be no changes in the home team for the pink ball Test in Adelaide, starting on December 6.
Jack Nisbett, meanwhile, has been brought in to replace Jem Ryan, who sustained a foot injury at the weekend, in the Prime Minister's XI to play India in Canberra this weekend.
Australia squad for second Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
