Fast bowler Scott Boland was confirmed as the third quick in the Australia lineup for the World Test Championship final against India starting on Wednesday at the Oval, England.
Boland’s inclusion in the playing XI comes in place of Josh Hazlewood, who was ruled out due to an injury, two days ahead of the final.
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According to captain Pat Cummins, Boland “offers something slightly different to Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc being a left hander is bit different.”
The right arm pacer played against India in the first Test match at Nagpur earlier this year but remained wicketless.
Who is Scott Boland?
Although he has been one of the veterans of Australia’s domestic cricket, Boland came into the limelight when he made his debut in the boxing day Test during the Ashes 2021-22 at his home ground – Melbourne Cricket Ground.
He became only the second male indigenous player to play for Australia after Jason Gillespie, and fourth overall in a list that includes women cricketers Faith Thomas and Ashleigh Gardner. Boland comes from the Gulidjan tribe in the Colac area of Victoria.
On his debut, the Victorian claimed 6/7 – the seventh-best figures for an Australian on Test debut – and second-best bowling strike rate in a Test inning – 4.00.
He finished that series with 18 wickets and a bowling average of 9.55. In seven test matches so far, the 34-year-old has claimed 28 wickets at a staggering average of 13.42 – the lowest among any Test cricketer who has bowled at least 1000 balls since the 20 th century.
Before making his Test debut, Boland had made his limited-overs debut in the 2015-16 season. He made his ODI and T20I debut against the same opposition – India – at Perth and Melbourne, respectively.
| Format | Matches | Wickets | Average | Best Figures |
| Test | 13 | 28 | 13.42 | 6/7 |
| ODI | 14 | 16 | 45.31 | 3/67 |
| T20I | 3 | 3 | 30 | 3/26 |