Cricket

Snug fit: Aussie hailed in Warwickshire county triumph

By Ian Chadband

Sep 28, 2026

Test allrounder Beau Webster played a part in Wawrwickshire's county championship triumph. -AAP Image

Warwickshire are celebrating becoming county champions in England for the ninth time — and they haven't forgotten the significant part played by their favourite Australian import Beau Webster.

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The Midlands county has become a "second home" for the Tasmanian, who helped their push for the title over the first half of the season before he returned to Test duty with the Aussies a couple of months ago.

But as Warwickshire celebrated at their Edgbaston home over the weekend after wrapping up the title with their innings-and-79-run victory over Leicestershire, skipper Ed Barnard was quick to recall the popular allrounder's impact before the man from Snug departed in July.

"The overseas players deserve a shout," reflected Barnard. "Beau was brilliant at the start of the year, Youngy (New Zealander Will Young) and (India's) Manav [Suthar] at the back end have been fantastic too. It's been a squad effort."

Warwickshire prevailed after a fantastic run once the season resumed in August, winning five of their six matches, with former Australia Under-19 batter Sam Hain going on to become the third-highest run-scorer in division one with 1048 runs.

It was the Gold Coast-raised batter Hain's innings of 142 that laid the foundations of Warwickshire's title-clinching win, while Ethan Bamber, the leading championship wicket-taker with 69 scalps, fittingly grabbed the title-clinching dismissal in the three-day win.

Webster has become a firm favourite within the Edgbaston faithful and was thrilled to be awarded his county cap in his second season, during which he made his biggest impact in the T20 Blast but also scored 403 championship runs, averaging 33.58, while taking a dozen wickets.

"I've got a lot of really good mates here now and consider it a bit of a second home away from Tassie. I love it and hope to be back in the future, for sure," the 32-year-old said after being given the honour of captaining the Bears in his final match back in July.

After Sunday's final day of championship action, Somerset sealed their runner's up spot with a draw against Surrey that featured their middle-order batter Tom Abell scoring the season's only triple century with 307 at Taunton.

In the second division, Darren Lehmann-coached Northamptonshire just missed out on promotion, finishing third behind Durham and Kent.

Northants' paceman Harry Conway took more wickets than any Australian in the championship in 2026 with his 44 scalps, while Lehmann's son Jake Lehmann was the highest-scoring Aussie batter with 965 runs for first-division Hampshire at an average of 48.25.

The leading run-scorer of the championship summer was Nottinghamshire's Joe Clarke, with 1287, just a single run more than Abell amassed.

TOP AUSTRALIANS IN THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP 2026

BATTING - LEADING SCORERS

Jake Lehmann (Hampshire - Div One) 965 runs (Av 48.25)

Nathan McSweeney (Northamptonshire - Div Two) 754 (44.35)

Daniel Hughes (Sussex - Div One) 746 (37.30)

Marcus Harris (Lancashire - Div Two) 676 (32.19)

Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire - Div Two) 615 (29.28)

Jake Weatherald (Leicestershire - Div One) 483 (60.37)

Beau Webster (Warwickshire - Div One) 403 (33.58)

Sam Whiteman (Yorkshire - Div One) 401 (21.10)

BOWLING - LEADING WICKET-TAKERS