Scott Boland will debut for Australia in the Boxing Day Test against England, after captain Pat Cummins confirmed on Christmas morning that the Victorian had received one of the most surprising call-ups in recent years.
Meanwhile, England have made four changes to the side that lost the second Test in Adelaide by 275 runs, with spinner Jack Leach among those recalled and out of form opener Rory Burns left out.
The 32-year old joins Cummins in replacing Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson from Australia’s comfortable win in the second Test in Adelaide, with the Western Australian joining Josh Hazlewood in being ruled out of the match at the MCG through injury.
According to Cummins, Boland’s outstanding record at the venue, where he has taken 91 wickets at 25.71 in 26 games for Victoria, was a ‘huge part’ of getting the nod over the omitted Neser.
“We earmarked him as a chance for here and the SCG in particular,” he said.
“We think his record is really well suited.”
“His record speaks for itself here in domestic cricket. Home ground, having someone fresh like him who can perform straightaway were the big factors.”
Calls to select Boland had been growing louder in recent days, with Sheffield Shield commentator Adam White saying he would be ‘borderline unplayable’.
Cummins said the Aussies would treat a leg injury to Richardson with caution, after he bowled 38 overs in Adelaide in his first Test in nearly three years.
“He was pretty sore… we were umming and ahhing,” Cummins said.
“He had a bowl yesterday but we thought seven days off [until the New Year’s Test] will give him enough rest.
“He’s got a small leg injury which is nothing major, but we thought rather than risking a long-term injury, we’d give him a week off.”
Scott Boland. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Boland is the first Australian to make his debut on the biggest day on the Test calendar since Joe Burns in 2014 against India. As expected, the news was the perfect Christmas present for the fast bowler.
“He’s really excited obviously,” Cummins said.
“It’s a dream for him to wear the Baggy Green. Packed MCG on Boxing Day, it doesn’t get any better.”
Boland becomes just the second men’s Indigenous player, after Jason Gillespie, to earn a baggy green. Hailing from the Gulidjan tribe in Colac, an outstanding Sheffield Shield campaign for Victoria has seen him pocket 15 wickets at just 10.80.
He has represented Australia before, playing 14 ODIs and three T20Is throughout 2016.
Boland is the third Australian debutant of the series, joining Neser and Alex Carey in donning the whites for the first time. With Cameron Green and Will Pucovski handed debuts last summer, it means Australia have named five first-gamers in their last seven Tests.
England’s dire position in the Ashes has led coach Chris Silverwood to swing the axe, making four changes for the must-win match.
Rory Burns’ poor form at the top of the order has cost him his spot in the team, with replacement Zak Crawley’s dire average of 11 in 2021 balanced out by his predicted suitability to Australian conditions.
Ollie Pope’s struggles against Nathan Lyon have seen him replaced as number six batter by the experienced Jonny Bairstow, who is one of three Englishmen in their squad – the others Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes – with a Test hundred in Australia.
Twin changes have been made in the bowling attack, with quicks Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad left out. The pacy Mark Wood has been recalled, while England have opted to roll the dice once more with spinner Jack Leach despite copping a hammering in Brisbane.
>> Head here for the full Third Test teams
Andrew
Guest
I'm with you I2I. Pick your best team and replace as required with next in line.
Dutski
Roar Guru
Boland. Dang autocorrect
Scotty
Guest
It is a joke really. Since when do we pick horses for courses outside of a raging turner? What happened to Australia’s famed backing the encumbent policy? Neser did his time (time and time again), being 12th man which arguably hurts a player more than helps as it reduces their match practice and limits their ability to pick up good BBL contracts, only to be dropped after having a pretty reasonable debut. There is no way Boland is magically a much better bowler than Neser on the G vs Adelaide. Neser has been ripped off completely.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
I can attest to that, but if you are going to rest healthy fit bowlers because the stats say it’s the surface or ground where he’s been previously least effective and therefore dropping him is best for the team result, then surely a holistic selection policy is dropping a batsman who has worse figures on certain wickets or grounds? One major thing I can attest to as an opening bowler for 20 years is mental fatigue trumps physical. You feel physically done if your brain can’t push your body further, then rhythm and technique disappears. Rhythm and technique are crucial to both batting and bowling and that mental fatigue drives venue based underperformance. There are a million backroomers now, their job is to freshen body and mind. If their advice is resting from Test matches then they aren’t worth the coin. With an average of 12 Tests a year in series blocks it must become the policy to treat those like Olympians perform, to maximise peak performance during the tournament.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
At the start of a series the selectors choose their best attack to go 1-0. That attack is your BEST attack. If players get injured, as they have, you go thru your subs and pick the next best TYPE of bowler to replace the injured. Of course the track becomes a consideration due to the forced change, but the Australian bowlers bowled too short at the end of the Indian series and gave away 50% of their wicket taking options. You get better at that by playing. I'd love to see an article from one of the stat minded Roar contributors show us the massive one off contributions made by a horse for a course! Not who should play, but who did and what their over the odds contribution was.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
No. Fast bowling is way tougher physically than batting.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Would it? So the mentally fatigued top order should become horses for courses too?
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Fair enough, injuries are one thing. 'He doesn't usually perform well here' is different. How does a player get experience to be a threat on all surfaces if he's pigeonholed? Let bowlers get experience and form on different wickets, just like batsmen are allowed. Then you have a versatile TEAM!
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
Good post Roberts but I don't think over thinking is a factor ????
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
He has started OK nerves accuracy wise. Good on him. Fleming commentating on bowling a heavy ball which is a real thing. Could you write an article on it Damien please? Tried to find info via cricket and baseball but there isn't much
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
I think give him a chance. Jackson Bird got 9 Tests. Thought Neser did OK too
Micko
Roar Rookie
Kind of makes sense sheek. People rave about Starc, and quote his stats, which are heavily improved by pink ball D/N Tests, where he's often mediocre, and often lets us down in other tests (just last series vs India comes to mind).
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
Again I think it was down to the Little Bus JL. He was good enough and available enough.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Hope so
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Don’t think so but Green will bowl 11mm of grass on wicket, Boland will bowl well on his home deck!
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
I’ve seen since that Boland averages 13.4 at the G since 2018. Well ahead of Pattinson, Cummins and Siddle et al. Only one better - Bumrah, 15 wickets at 13.1! And interesting on the spinners: Lyon 11 wkts at 42.82, Swepson 10 at 18.90 - of course, against completely different quality of opposition.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Best of the rest, but don't need to pick from the rest when Richardson and Neser are available. Expect Green to bowl a lot of overs
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Absolutely, good luck Scott! He is an mcg specialist.
sheek
Roar Guru
That's a novel idea. Not so long ago you simply picked the best in-form players. Now you pick ground specialists???
sheek
Roar Guru
The 'Bellerive specialist'???