The Examiner's Ben Hann and Josh Partridge discuss Beau Webster's Test cricket deput in episode 79 of The Press Box. Video by Aaron Smith and Paul Scambler (9/1/25)
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00:00Welcome one and all to another episode of The Press Box.
00:10My name's Ben Hand.
00:11Joining alongside me once again is Josh Partridge.
00:13We've got episode 79 for you guys of what is at least the second best Northern Tasmanian
00:19sports podcast.
00:21But to kick off the new year, Josh, we've had four weeks away.
00:25I know I've had up to, you know, at least six or seven phone calls saying, where is
00:32The Press Box?
00:33Where is The Press Box?
00:34We miss it so much.
00:35So we're going to give the people what they want.
00:38And to start off with, especially what they want is numerology.
00:49So for the first 2025 numerology, Josh, I had to start off well.
00:56And fortunately, we've had a massive moment in Tasmanian cricket, Bo Webster.
01:00What a journeyman.
01:01I think if you told me six or seven years ago that he would be a test cricketer, I would
01:06have been a bit disappointed in where Australian cricket's gone.
01:09That bloke, six foot seven bowling off, he's probably not.
01:12Yeah, exactly.
01:13But I mean, what a story.
01:15He has completely turned his career around and he's genuinely made it there on merit
01:20and looks like one of Australia's best players in the world.
01:23Like it genuinely, you know, it was amazing to see him do what he did out there.
01:28A lot was made about his batting, Josh, but I'm actually going to focus on his bowling
01:32for this numerology segment, because this doesn't sound good initially.
01:38His bowling average was 53, so one wicket and went for 53 runs, but that one wicket
01:41was Shulman Gill, really important.
01:43So an average of 53 with the ball.
01:47He conceded 24 runs in that second inning, so 53 plus 24 is 77.
01:54And then he took two catches, two really important catches early in the first inning.
01:59So fielding as well, adding to his bowling performance, and two plus 77 obviously equals
02:0479.
02:05So that's how we get to that number.
02:07Well, it's stretchy, but it's relevant and that's what makes them your best, Ben.
02:10So well done.
02:11Thank you very much.
02:14And we are going to stick to the slug theme, obviously Bo Webster, slug from snug.
02:17A lot's been talked about him obviously in the last week, making his test debut for Australia
02:23against India in that all-important fifth test of the Boring Gavaskar Trophy.
02:27Josh, take me through sort of how he performed, first of all, and I suppose what an amazing
02:33achievement this is.
02:34I think, yeah, he was just so up to the task.
02:37As I was saying on commentaries, his forward defense was solid and then once the ball got
02:42short or a bit wide, he just put them away.
02:45He did what cricket simply is.
02:47You space out the good balls and you hit the bad balls.
02:50And he was the only Australian to reach a half century in that test match and that's
02:55understated how big that is.
02:57And then to have done his role with the ball, obviously the second innings was where he
03:01got his wicket, but the first innings he bowled something like 12 overs really economically
03:05and only really got hit when he got a bit impatient and started kind of targeting the
03:09stumps a bit more as opposed to bowling a bit defensively.
03:12So he really did his job and I think certainly exceeded expectations of what they thought
03:17he was going to do.
03:18Like obviously they knew he was up to the task, but to put it to the performance he
03:22did was fantastic.
03:23Yeah, I think there was two takeaways for me.
03:25First one was in that first innings alone, he bowled more overs than Mitch Marsh had
03:28in his previous 21 innings in test cricket.
03:31So you can see the value just there, only going for 1.5 and over, not getting away,
03:35did his role to perfection with the ball.
03:37And then with the bat, I think what was striking was the Indian commentary on BowlingHipster
03:42was that this guy has a really great technique and they've not seen that from a lot of Australian
03:47batters recently.
03:48He had a really compact technique and they said, look, when he came out, it was just
03:52like, oh, he's not just going to give his wicket away.
03:55And it was clear from the outset he had the technique to get him through what was two
03:59really, really stressful, difficult, high pressure moments.
04:02I mean, he walked out to bat it at 4 for 39.
04:05We're sitting here going, oh, we can ease a debutant into test cricket, batting six,
04:10whatever.
04:11He's walked out at 4 for 39 and saved Australia in that first inning.
04:14It's superb.
04:15Yeah, absolutely.
04:16And then fittingly hit the winning runs to end it.
04:19What a test match.
04:20I'm sure he'll remember it for the rest of his life.
04:22And I suppose looking forward now, we're a very short turnaround for Australia's next
04:27test series.
04:28Weirdly in January, we usually go into the one days and white ball cricket, but we're
04:33now moving to Sri Lanka, where Australia traveled for their last two test matches.
04:38Irrelevant now in the scheme of the World Test Championship, but my, well, I suppose
04:43we better introduce this segment first.
04:44Can you introduce this segment, please?
04:45Yeah, I know.
04:46It's been a while.
04:47Sorry, guys.
04:48The rust is still shaking off.
04:49It is the landmark segment of the flagship examiner sports podcast, which is Hanni's
04:54Hard Hitters.
05:03So thank you for the sting once more.
05:05People have forgotten Aaron behind the camera does a great job with those stings.
05:10My Hanni's Hard Hitter this week, Josh, is in spinning conditions where the team is often
05:15a lot different to what we play in Australia than what we play in Asia.
05:18Will the slug play in Sri Lanka?
05:22I would like to hope so, but unfortunately, I don't think that's the case.
05:26I think, as you've said, it's not necessarily an experiment, but they do like to mix things
05:31up when we go to the subcontinental conditions, and I think it might come at the expense of
05:36Bo this time around.
05:37Yourself?
05:38Yeah, I do actually worry that as well with Pat Cullen's batting form, they might even
05:42go two spinners and three bowlers.
05:45Gee, it would be unfortunate if he didn't, because he's done the opposite of anything
05:51wrong.
05:52Look, he's, yeah, I do think it could be just a pitch fit.
06:00They do like to bring a spinning all-rounder maybe in.
06:03I know they're going to look to try and bring in Peter Hanscom, they see him as a great
06:07batsman against spin.
06:08I think if he does play, he fully deserves it.
06:10Cameron Green, obviously, I don't think he will play, so that might open the door, and
06:15you never know, they might have a bit of an experimental team with a few older blokes
06:18maybe wanting a bit of a rest.
06:20Actually, Pat Cullen isn't even playing, so you might actually have a spot there after
06:24all.
06:26Let's just say, all of Tasmania hope so, and he definitely deserves to.
06:31In terms of predictions, we'll move right along to our own-
06:33That's smooth.
06:35That's very smooth.
06:36Our own predictions for sport in 2025, a mixture of football, cricket, netball, and soccer
06:44in there.
06:45We'll start off with you, Josh.
06:46You were mainly footy, but what did you predict in your crystal ball for 2025?
06:51I focused on the new NTFA Premier League and the NTFA Division 1, as well as some cricket
06:56as well that you touched on.
06:58With the NTFA Premier League, I predicted really, really toughly that both North and
07:04Launceston will make the final of the men's competition.
07:07Push the boat out there.
07:08Coming out of the- I'm ignoring that.
07:11Coming out of the TSL, I predicted that they would make the grand final.
07:14I think that's pretty much the common thought.
07:18It would be interesting for it to be different, but I think that's pretty much what's happening.
07:24In the women's, I picked South Launceston and Launceston to face off in the grand final,
07:30but I think South Launceston will just get the better of them there.
07:34In the Division 1, I picked Rochellea and Bridgnorth to face off in the men's with Rochellea
07:39getting the win, but Bridgnorth will get the better in the women's, and they'll once again
07:44face OLS and just get the better of them in the women's.
07:49In the cricket that I talked about, it was Aidan O'Connor will make his Tasmanian debut
07:53either the end of this season or the start of the next one, and I think Tom Dwyer might
07:58join him on the contracted list as well.
08:00I think Aidan will make- I think O'Grow actually definitely- Aidan will play before the end
08:06of this season's done.
08:07I think you made a good point about Bo Webster being out of the team.
08:09Obviously with Australian commitments, that spot is definitely up for grabs for him.
08:16The only disagreement I think I had on all of it was I do think Scottsdale and the women
08:20are going to be really strong.
08:21I think South Launceston could definitely win, but I think they'll be playing at Scottsdale,
08:25and I suppose it'll be interesting that North Launceston-Longford opener that's spruced
08:30to be happening.
08:32I think that will definitely show where the gap is between the TSL and the Premier League.
08:38In terms of my predictions, NTDA Division 2, we're going to have a lot of travel required
08:43in that league.
08:44There's no doubt.
08:45That's not a prediction.
08:46That's just a fact.
08:47But I do think Perth, for reasons of depth, Bridport and East Coast especially have some
08:53really, really high-end talent playing in that.
08:56It's been well documented, but Perth's 16-22 will be the strongest, I think, come finalist
09:02time.
09:03That will be what matters most.
09:04Their players will be less tired because there's less full load on their best players.
09:08They haven't lost anyone.
09:09They've also gained a few as well in Rocky Barron and...
09:12Josiah Burling.
09:13No, I'm just kidding.
09:14Josiah Burling.
09:15Thank you very much.
09:17In netball, I think it's going to be another Northern Derby grand final.
09:20You just really can't go past these two clubs at this stage.
09:23They're just so well run.
09:25I do think, though, the Hawks losing Ashmore, losing the GOAT of any sport, it's just tough
09:30to replace.
09:31You can't, really.
09:32So they'll do their best, and they'll probably make a grand final again.
09:35But I do think the Cavs will have the edge this time.
09:38They were not that far off even when they were playing against Ashmore.
09:41So I do think that they'll win, and it's tough to win four in a row.
09:45To finish off with soccer, I do think Launceston City will make a really important step.
09:50They've recruited really well internationally, too.
09:53They'll break into that top four, which I know is a big goal for them.
09:57I do think Riverside and Launceston United will still be down the bottom end there.
10:02Riverside finished third last.
10:03They scored 19 points for the season.
10:06I think they'll need to get a few more wins on the board.
10:08They just put themselves in good positions a lot last season, but just couldn't finish
10:13games off.
10:14And then for United, it's obviously starting from a really low level.
10:18They just need to get a few wins to find some belief.
10:21They finished the year really well last year.
10:23So we'll see if they all come true.
10:26We had a bit of a mixed bag last year, but that's the fun of it, isn't it?
10:31Well, we're going to move on to our last, and by the way, just increasing with popularity
10:36with every week.
10:37It might not even be at the end of the episode for much longer.
10:42That's how popular it is.
10:43But without further ado, I'll introduce Josh's local Hero of the Week.
10:55Well this week, after our long, delayed break, my Hero of the Week is Emmerman X Jeeves.
11:00A female cricketer who scored 110 for the Greater Northern Raiders on the weekend.
11:05She was...
11:06They went down, the Raiders.
11:08They set a really big target, but Clarence were just too good due to Tabitha Saville.
11:13She scored 160-ish, I'm going to say.
11:16161.
11:17There we go.
11:18Thank you very much, Ben.
11:19Even though I write the story, that's pretty impressive.
11:21But no, Emmerman was fantastic for the Raiders, and I've actually got a special mention in
11:25my Local Hero of the Week this week.
11:27It goes to Catherine Van Munster, the jockey of the Longford Cup winning horse.
11:31She achieved her dream.
11:32People laughed at her when she said the Longford Cup was her dream, and she achieved it early
11:38last week.
11:39Oh, wonderful.
11:40So that's what I thought I'd give out a little special mention to this week.
11:43Oh, as a hotly contested Hero of the Week, hopefully you've got a bit of an easier choice
11:49next week.
11:50That was a tough one.
11:51I hope so too.
11:52To pick between.
11:53Alright.
11:54Well that's all the time we have for this week.
11:55We'll join you guys for the next one.