On honeymoon, playing in a final - Webster's rise to Test all-rounder

Beau Webster is on honeymoon. Sort of.

Married to Maddie in April, the newlyweds only had time for a few days away in Tasmania before Australia all-rounder Webster began his stint at Warwickshire. Maddie ed him in Birmingham.

From there it is this week's World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, then three Tests in the West Indies. Webster could be back playing in the UK before the season is out. Only then, and before an Ashes summer back home, might the couple fit in a proper break.

The schedule is an indication of how Webster's life has changed, and how his career accelerated up to and beyond a Test debut in January at the age of 31.

From club cricket in Cheshire and Birmingham, to T20 leagues in Canada and the Cayman Islands, there was a time when Webster thought he would simply "eke out a steady career".

As a youngster, Webster was a good enough Australian Rules Football player to have considered entering the draft. He was offered to become a professional cricketer with Tasmania at 18, then had to wait almost 11 years after his first-class debut to progress to the highest level.

"There was a period when I thought I was stagnating," he tells BBC Sport.

"I was resigned to my goal of getting a baggy green not being there. If it didn't happen, I was OK with that. I was happy with the fact I might just be a good first-class cricketer and would hopefully win some silverware with Tasmania."

Webster had thoughts of what life after cricket might look like. His father was once a builder, so Webster dabbled with an apprenticeship "on the tools". He started and failed to finish university courses in journalism and business, then had more success with mortgage broking. He may do a diploma in the next year or so.

His immediate task is to hold down a place in the Australia team at number six, a role that revealed itself when Webster learnt to use his 6ft 6in frame to become a more than handy seamer.

Previously a batter who had been everywhere from one to eight in the Tasmania order, Webster would send down some part-time off-breaks if needed. From a young age he messed around in the nets attempting to bowl pace, but found the resulting back soreness had a negative impact on his batting.

It was only during the Covid pandemic, when 'Tassie' needed a seam-bowling all-rounder, that Webster took it seriously and was helped by renowned pace-bowling coach Adam Griffith.

"It was just lack of technique, feet and arms everywhere," says Webster. "Unless you get the right run-up, technique and your back and legs are used to it, you can have some soreness.

"I never had a run-up. Until you have a run-up, you do it in the nets and stutter in until you feel like you can hit the crease. You probably bowl at about 50% without a run-up. Once I sorted a run-up with Griffo and was able to focus on the other end, rather than the end where I was landing, it grew from there."

When Webster was ready to unleash his new skill in the middle, there was the issue of being taken seriously.

"When you bowl off-spin for long enough, then you start coming off the long run, everyone starts looking at it as a bit of a gimmick," he says.

"I spoke to Usman Khawaja about it. We played Queensland, I got the ball and came off the long run and Uzzy thought, 'What's going on here"Billion Dollar Downfall: The Dealmaker " loading="lazy" src="https://image.staticox.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Face%2Fstandard%2F480%2Fsprodpb%2Fc1f3%2Flive%2F64425c60-42e5-11f0-835b-310c7b938e84.jpg" width="385" height="216" class="ssrcss-11yxrdo-Image edrdn950"/>