Cricket Australia announces playing XI for the fifth Test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy, hosted in the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia drops their all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and has decided to add in the 31-year-old Beau Webstar. However, the star pacer Mitchell Starc, who was visibly suffering from back pain in Melbourne, will still stick around in Sydney. Early in the morning, on January 2nd, in the pre-match press conference, the Australian skipper, Pat Cummins, sharply announced that "Mitchy" (Marsh) has not been up to the mark, and it is a shame for him to get dropped. Cummins said, "One change. ‘Marshy’ misses out and Beau Webster is debuting. Mitchy hasn’t quite got the runs or the wickets that perhaps he would have liked in this series. It felt like it was time for a freshen up, and Beau has been with the squad and has been great. It’s a shame for Mitchy because we know how much he brings to the team, but we felt now’s a good week for Beau to get a chance." Since the selection for the second Test at the Gabba, there have been talks about Marsh's fitness, but Australia has managed to keep him in the squad. Despite that, they added the Tasmanaian all-rounder Webster to the squad but kept him benched. But this time, in Sydney, he will play his debut Test. Webster not only excelled in batting but has proved his skills with the ball in hand as well. In his recent one-day performance against Western Australia, he took six wickets for just 17 runs. JUST IN: Pat Cummins confirms a change to the playing XI for the SCG Test #AUSvIND — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 1, 2025 Read also: Reports: Gambhir Lands Coaching Role, But Wasn’t the First Choice Australia squad for the last Test at Sydney: Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (captain), Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.