Boland pips Neser for WTC Final spot, Cummins confirms
Scott Boland gets the nod to play his maiden Test in England.
Scott Boland gets the nod to play his maiden Test in England.

SCOTT Boland has gotten the nod to play his maiden Test in England as Australia all but confirmed the team they will take into their World Test Championship final against India at The Oval this week.

Captain Pat Cummins confirmed Boland, whose bowling average of 13.42 is the lowest of any Test cricketer to have sent down at least 1000 deliveries since the start of the 20th century, had pipped Michael Neser for the final bowling spot in Australia’s XI.Cummins’ subsequent explanation there would be “no surprises” in the XI picked for one-off clash in south London suggests Australia’s team would revert to its familiar balance of five batters ahead of allrounder Cameron Green, wicketkeeper Alex Carey, then three quicks and a spinner.

Likely Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland Neser had been called into the Aussies’ official 15-player squad for the ICC-run contest beginning Wednesday after Josh Hazlewood was ruled out due to injury.

But Boland’s supreme record cultivated over seven Tests since his remarkable debut during the last Ashes series in 2021-22 will see him join Cummins, Green, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon in Australia’s expected bowling attack.

Cummins admits the Victorian is “very close” to being considered an equal to the ‘big three’ fast bowlers in the selection hierarchy, but rejected the idea of a “pecking order” being in place.
“We’re big on kind of everyone bowling slightly differently,” Cummins told reporters.

“Scott is a seam bowler on a good length, but he just offers something slightly different to Joshy Hazlewood, and Starcy being a left hander is bit different.
“So I don’t think there’s ever a pecking order. You think about the three guys that you want to go out and play.”

It feeds into the likelihood that Australia will mix and match their pace bowlers through a seven-and-a-half-week stretch in which they will play six Tests.
It means Neser and even Sean Abbott could face England during the ensuing Ashes campaign, with Cummins suggesting their bowlers have no excuse not to go all-out in every Test
“That’s the luxury of having bench strength,” he said. “‘Hoff’ (Hazlewood) was really close to being available for this one so he’ll be available for the first (Ashes) Test.
“‘Ness’ (Neser), you see how well he’s been doing in county cricket, Sean Abbott’s here, so I’m sure we’ll be calling on a lot of resources.

“You don’t want to finish off a Test match with something (left) in the tank knowing that you’ve got other guys fresh that you could bring in a few days later.”
Cummins, however, will carefully manage Green’s bowling workloads through the next few weeks, particularly given he is coming off a T20-heavy lead-up having only finished his maiden Indian Premier League campaign less than two weeks ago.

“You would think the fast bowlers are probably going to bowl more overs at the start (of the tour), and Greeny ends up taking a bit more of a load towards the end of the series. That normally naturally pans out that way anyway,” said Cummins.

“Greeny is available, he is fit, but it is probably not in our interest to burn him and put 40 overs into him in a game, which is a conversation we have pretty much before every Test match, and he has never really red-lined so far.”

Boland, who played the first match of this year’s Test tour of India before Australia went in with three spinners for the rest of the series, is likely to be one of only two Australians featuring in their first international matches in England (Green is the othe
The 34-year-old’s only prior UK playing experience came on a 2018 Indigenous tour.

But Cummins insisted he does not need to change from the bowling style that has made him such a force at home.
“In the past here in England, because the ball does talk a little more, I’ve seen players get too caught up in trying to take wickets every ball because you’ve suddenly got the ball swinging and seaming,” said Cummins.

“Someone like Scotty, it’s just a really simple game-plan – you hit your good areas and you stay there all day and hopefully the ball will do the work for you
“He’s had a few bowls over here now and has looked good. But he looks good whenever he bowls.”

A green surface greeted the teams two days out from their inaugural Test encounter on neutral territory, though Cummins expects the grass to be trimmed before Wednesday.
Abbott, who has played at The Oval in three first-class games this northern summer for the ground’s home county Surrey before joining the Test group as a reserve bowler in recent days, has told the Australians to expect a surface that is fast and bouncy by English standards
Andy Flower, England’s former head coach who led them to their breakthrough 2010-11 Ashes series win down under, has also helped the Australians get up to speed with local conditions.
The former Zimbabwe batter, who played a season for South Australia in 2004, is now a freelance coach and was roped in by Andrew McDonald to help with their preparations for the WTC Final.

Flower is also expected to assist the Australians at stages during the forthcoming Ashes series.
“Today was his first time around the group,” said Cummins. “He’ll dip in and out, a different voice.

“He knows these conditions really well, hopefully knows the opposition. If he can give us one little bit of insight into playing in England that we haven’t thought about, then it’s worth it.
“Andrew’s worked with him quite a bit and you’ve seen us over the years bring in different people at different times. Pretty lucky to have someone as experienced as Andy.”

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