On debut! Here is every ball of Scott Boland’s 4-1-7-6, December 2021, Melbourne
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We were there.
We were at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia v England. Third Test, Day 3, 28 December 2021. Scott Boland day.
Second innings: SM Boland 4 overs, 1 maiden, 6 for 7!
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This is it.
It’s a blue-sky, end-of-year, post-Christmas, pre-New-Year, liminal-space kind of day in Melbourne, 2021. The England men’s cricket team is in town. And four of us are off to the MCG. Speculative ticket purchases made earlier in a time of COVID. Specultive life choices. Trying to find a way. Melbourne – emerging from two diabolical years of COVID, of stress, of difficulty. A blue sky day.
It’s a five Test summer. Two are done. Australia winning by 9 wickets in Brisbane and by 275 runs in day/night Adelaide. Test cricket as ritual, as rhythm, as grounding.
1st Test, Brisbane 8-11 December 2021,
England 147 (JC Buttler 39, PJ Cummins 5/38)
Australia 425 (TM Head 152, DA Warner 94, OE Robinson 3/58)
England 297 (JE Root 89, DJ Malan 82, NM Lyon 4/91)
Australia 1/20
Australia won by 9 wickets
2nd Test (D/N), Adelaide 16-20 December 2021
Australia 9d/473 (M Labuschagne 103, DA Warner 95, BA Stokes 3/113)
England 236 (DJ Malan 80, MA Starc 4/37)
Australia 9d/230 (M Labuschagne 51, TM Head 51)
England 192 (C Woakes 44, J Richardson 5/42)
Australia won by 275 runs
And here we are now, on Level 1 of the Great Southern Stand looking west. Once again we are in a large public setting. The ground before us a picture of tartan green.
It’s great to be here.
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I post this as a small celebration for SM Boland. Since his Test debut in December 2021 at age 32, he has performed very consistently and very reliably at the highest level. He has done this somehow without ever being among the three first choice bowlers for the country.
It rankles this Victorian, but Messers Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, when fit, have been deemed the best pace attack for Australia. Hard to argue with.
I post this, as well, because I feel a little starved of Test cricket. We had tickets to Melbourne Day 3, Australia v England, December 2025. But the match was over in two days. Still, I turned up to ground on Day 3 – and wrote about that experience.
All things being well, I usually hope to see one day of Test cricket each year. It’s been a while since I saw a full day’s play between Australia and England, though.
Day 3 of the Australia v England Melbourne Test in 2021 lasted around one hour.
Day 3 of the Australia v England Melbourne Test in 2025 did not take place.
But the main reason for posting is as a celebration of SM Boland’s Test debut.
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2021 Boxing Day is nuts. A bit showery, a bit gloomy. England all out 185 after 65 overs. (JE Root 50, PJ Cummins 3/36, NM Lyon 3/36, SM Boland 1/48). At the close of play, Australia are 1/61.
Towards the end of Day 2, Australia are bowled out for 267 (MS Harris 76, JM Anderson 4/33) for a first innings lead of 82.
England have 12 overs to face at the end of Day 2. And we four are very interested in these 12 overs. We’re looking forward to a cracking Day 3. Perhaps a day of seeing Joe Root bat. A day of seeing what the Poms can offer. These last 12 overs of Day 2 fall in prime beer-with-salt-and-vinegar-chips-on-the-couch territory.
And so it’s with equal parts admiration and horror, that we watch outstanding spells of fast bowling from PJ Cummins and MA Starc. Beating, beating, beating the bat, beating the outside edge, the inside edge, edges short of slip, appeals for LBW. The first four overs are red hot.
In the fifth over, MA Starc gets Z Crawley caught behind. It had felt inevitable. Next ball, he gets DJ Malan. A massive appeal for lbw and given first ball! Malan reviews. It’s short of a length and angles back in at Malan who is beaten for pace. It’s leg-side(ish) and its umpire’s calls on hitting the leg bail! Hat-trick ball: MA Starc to JE Root. Four slips and a gully. Unplayable! Beats the outside edge. Too good even for Root. Full at off stump and curves away to fly past Root’s edge.
England 2/7.
With eight minutes left in the day and England 2/22, SM Boland is brought into the attack. There will be time for him to bowl just one over. Possibly PJ Cummins will have time to bowl the last.
SM Boland bowls the 11th over like this:
10.1 SM Boland to H Hameed, no run. Short of a length outside off, whips the bat inside the line.
10.2 SM Boland to H Hameed, no run. Tighter to off stump, back of a length, well left by Hameed.
10.3 SM Boland to H Hameed, OUT – he’s got him! Outside edge and the MCG roars for its local hero. A lovely delivery from Boland, back of a length at off stump, nips off the seam and takes a thin nick as Hameed is squared up.
Jack Leach walks out as the nightwatchman. Four slips, gully and a short leg.
10.4 SM Boland to MJ Leach, no run. Round the wicket and nearly plays on! Full outside off, Leach defends and it bounces back from the crease just over off stump.
10.5 SM Boland to MJ Leach, OUT – Gone, leaves it alone and loses off stump! Carnage at the MCG. Round the wicket, length delivery shapes back, Leach doesn’t play and the ball pings into the top of off stump. What scenes!
We are currently lacking a new England batter. Must be chaos in the dressing room. And finally here comes Ben Stokes. He seems to have all his equipment.
10.6 SM Boland to BA Stokes. Round the wicket, length ball outside off, Stokes across the crease and tucks it down to long leg for 1 run.
England 4/23. S Boland 1-0-1-2
Pat Cummins bowls the threatening twelfth and last over. At the close of Day 2, England are 4/31 (JE Root 12*, BA Stokes 2*).
The prospects for Day 3 are grim now. But we wonder about a fighting partnership between Root and Stokes. Such things have happened before.
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Day 3. Australia with a first innings lead of 82. England in second innings 4/31. Back at the MCG, we take off our COVID face masks and breathe in Melbourne summer air.
MA Starc and PJ Cummins begin well. JE Root and BA Stokes begin cautiously. Eleven runs from scratchy edges and mis-timed shots from the first four overs. Hanging in. But then, much of batting is about hanging in through the tough times. Finding a way.
In the fifth over the day, 17th over of the innings, MA Starc gets BA Stokes. OUT – Starc is fuller, tighter to the stumps, hits the top of middle, clean through the gate! Stokes comes forward to defend, but that is too fast and too good! Shaping back in from over the wicket and cutting off the seam for extra impact. Proper bowling. England 5/46. MA Starc 8-2-25-3
Our hopes of a decent day’s play leave the MCG with the retreating BA Stokes. We go to fetch plastic mugs of beer.
JM Bairstow joins JE Root. Together they make it through to the change of bowlers. First bowling change of the day is CD Green on for PJ Cummins. He bowls the tenth over of the day, the 22nd over of the innings.
Second bowling change is SM Boland on for MA Starc. He gets a raucous welcome. He will bowl the 11th over of the day. The 23rd of the innings. Here is Scott Boland, Victorian, on debut from the Great Southern Stand end. On TV we watched him get two wickets in one over last night. We are excited. It seems everyone in the MCG is excited to see him.
SM Boland bowls the 23rd over like this:
22.1 SM Boland to JM Bairstow, DROPPED! Boland’s first ball of the day! Slashes off the back foot and dropped in the gully! CD Green dives to his left and gets both hands to it! JM Bairstow flashes hard, which saves him, and gets a run. Very catchable. The MCG is alive.
22.2 SM Boland to JE Root, no run. Pushes comfortably into the off side.
22.3 SM Boland to JE Root. Root drills on the up, through the covers, picking the gap in front of square with a high elbow, up on the toes for 3 runs.
22.4 SM Boland to JM Bairstow, no run. Wicket to wicket, back of a length, presses back to the bowler.
22.5 SM Boland to JM Bairstow, OUT – Huge appeal! And given! A long look from umpire Wilson and Bairstow reviews. He is thumped on the knee-roll, not very far forward. No sign of an inside-edge. Not sure it’ll be outside the line… indeed, it’s Umpire’s Call! On impact and hitting the stumps. He is beaten all ends up by the wicket-to-wicket line and length, tailing in. Incredible bowling. Counting last night, SM Boland has three wickets and a dropped catch in 11 balls.
22.6 SM Boland to JC Buttler, no run. Beaten outside off, hitting the deck hard and jagging past the edge.
England 6/60. SM Boland 2-0-5-3. We have seen him bowl 6 balls for one wicket, one dropped catch and 4 runs.
CD Green bowls the next. Then back to SM Boland from the Great Southern Stand end.
SM Boland bowls the 25th over like this:
24.1 SM Boland to JE Root, no run. Drills on the back foot, into the off side.
24.2 SM Boland to JE Root, no run. Through to the keeper, outside off, not a lot of carry on that one.
24.3 SM Boland to JE Root, no run. Forward, and pushes into the off side.
24.4 SM Boland to JE Root, OUT – Hard-handed drive! Angled in once more, Root flashes through the line. Warner at slip clings onto a fat deflection. Goodness.
24.5 SM Boland to MA Wood, no run. Back of a length outside off, holds the bat inside the line
24.6 SM Boland to MA Wood, no run. Fuller, brings him forward, seams past the outside edge to end another magical over for Boland. A wicket-maiden.
England 7/61. SM Boland 3-1-5-4. We have seen him bowl 12 balls for two wickets, one dropped catch and 4 runs.
And it does seem magical. It seems as though every ball could take a wicket. From level 1 of the Great Southern Stand, I wonder what on earth he’s doing.
Another one for SM Boland. Pic: Faber-Castell on baking paper. By the author, click to enlarge
Again, CD Green bowls the next. Then back to SM Boland from the Great Southern Stand end.
The roar of the Melbourne crowd is huge now as SM Boland prepares to bowl again.
27th over:
26.1 SM Boland to MA Wood. OUT – Straight back to him, it’s a five-wicket haul! It’s a full ball at off stump, Wood comes forward to drive and just pops a return catch back down the pitch. Scott Boland equals the record for the fastest five-wicket haul – in 19 balls – joining Ernie Toshack and Stuart Broad.
26.2 SM Boland to OE Robinson, no run. Past the edge, there’s an appeal from behind the bat as Robinson nibbles at it.
26.3 SM Boland to OE Robinson, OUT – edged, taken at third slip! INCREDIBLE SCENES. SIX FOR BOLAND. Length ball outside off, Robinson props forward and it’s a snaffled by Labuschagne.
26.4 SM Boland to JM Anderson, 2 runs. Round the wicket, flicks a delivery neatly off his pads through square leg.
26.5 SM Boland to JM Anderson, no run. Wide outside off, left alone.
26.6 SM Boland to JM Anderson, no run. Good length at off stump, gets across the crease and defends to point.
England 9/67. SM Boland 4-1-7-6.
CD Green bowls the next and dismisses JM Anderson.
Australia win by an innings and 14 runs. It’s all over before midday.
Player of the Match is Scott Boland. He is awarded the Mullagh Medal to huge cheers around the ground. “Like to thank the crowd for all the support, really appreciate it. There were about 17 of us who went away a few year to commemorate the 1868 tour, very proud to win this award.”
And SM Boland puts the Mullagh medal around his neck, the medal named after a member of the 1868 team of indigenous cricketers that toured England. This is quite something, as SM Boland is just the second male indigenous Test player for Australia after JN Gillespie.
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Game over before midday, we leave the MCG. Buzzing. We walk in the summer sun, up the hill and through the Fitzroy Gardens. Up and over the hill we walk, and wend our way to lunch at The Standard Hotel, Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy. It’s a bit flattening to have seen only an hour of play. But it’s uplifting to have seen and heard that performance.
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Today I’m very happy for SM Boland that, four years later, he continues. Though rarely the first, second or third choice bowler picked, at the time of writing, SM Boland has 82 Test wickets from 19 Tests. And yes stats are awful, but also yes he has taken those 82 at an average of 18.58 runs per wicket, an economy rate of 2.86 runs per over and a strike rate of one wicket every 38.9 balls.
Well played Scott Boland.
I realise now that on Day 3 I only ever saw you bowl 18 deliveries. 18 deliveries for 4 wickets, one dropped catch and 6 runs. Bravo.
Lunch
This story also appears at David’s substack.
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About David Wilson
David Wilson is a hydrologist, climate reporter and writer of fiction & observational stories. He writes under the name “E.regnans” at The Footy Almanac and has stories in several books. One of his stories was judged as a finalist in the Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2021. He shares the care of two daughters and likes to walk around feeling generally amazed. Favourite tree: Eucalyptus regnans.
