Test quick insists he is yet to hit his straps after fiery Sheffield Shield finish
Boland brilliance inspires Vics to thrilling Shield victory
Scott Boland got his competitive juices flowing in his penultimate Ashes tune-up, but the Test paceman laughed off suggestions he will be fodder for England this summer.
Boland got reverse-ramped by Sam Konstas in a spicy Sheffield Shield contest on Friday but it was one of the opener’s New South Wales teammates that lit a flame under the Victorian at the Junction Oval.
Ollie Davies, who threatened to rip the game away from the hosts in his rollicking 73-ball 64, copped a send-off from the 36-year-old after a brilliant seam-backer than cannoned into leg-stump.
Boland, who was named player of the match despite stressing he still has not hit his straps with the ball this summer, played down the exchange with Davies.
“I was just excited to get a wicket,” he told reporters. “I hadn’t got one for a while. We’ve had some good contests. I played an Aussie A game with him last year, really enjoyed his company. He’s a nice fella, we had some nice words after the game.”
But Greg Shipperd, Boland’s first state coach at Victoria who is now at the helm of New South Wales, insisted that “is not the Scotty Boland I know”.
Shipperd’s counterpart, Chris Rogers, suggested there had been more to it.
Ramping Konstas’ 53 revives Boxing Day memories
“I think they’ve had a bit of a verbal stoush before,” Victoria coach Rogers told reporters. “I think Ollie likes to give as much as he gets.
“Ollie was batting beautifully as well – so that was a big wicket for us. That’s the great thing in the Sheffield Shield, there’s little contests within the contest.”
It was the first of five consecutive Boland wickets that singlehandedly fired the Vics to a 38-run win after the Blues looked the goods to chase 255 in their fourth innings having been set up by Konstas’ 53.
It bodes well for an Australian side likely to need him if Pat Cummins is not fit for the Ashes series opener in Perth next month.
“It’s amazing how class players step up when the moment counts,” said Rogers. “To come and get the last five wickets – I mean, that is just exceptional, and just shows just how good he is, if anyone needed any more convincing.”
Boland had been expensive leading into his match-turning spell, revealing a minor issue with his run-up had prevented him from finding his best rhythm.
That, and not former England captain’s Michael Atherton’s quip that Boland “holds no fear” for the Bazballers this summer, has been his main preoccupation this week.
“I saw it,” a smiling Boland said. “My cousin sent it to me, taking the piss. I’m sure there’s going to be so much banter between former players between now and the first Test.
“They can say what they want.Â
“I’ve got my own internal motivations for what I want to do during the summer.
“I’m never going into a game just middling along. There’s always some motivation for me to try and either come into the team and try to put in a really good performance to try and keep my spot.
“There’s so many good fast bowlers in Australia that just don’t want to give anyone an inch.”
Boland will skip the Vics’ next Shield match as part of his pre-Ashes management plan before facing the Blues again at the SCG on November 10, with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood likely to turn out for NSW.
Boland is eager to find his best form at domestic level before the Test series begins.
“I was probably stressing about it a bit too much from what I usually do,” Boland said of his struggles at times with the ball this week.
“Sometimes that just happens. I just want to find my rhythm as quick as I can in a game. Sometimes that happens in half a spell, sometimes it takes a bit longer.
“I felt like I was able to hang in enough to bowl some spells and get some wickets for the team.”
Sheffield Shield 2025-26 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
Victoria Men
VIC
2
2
0
0
0
0
1.83
1.6
15.43
2
NSW Men
NSW
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
8
3
Queensland Bulls
QLD
1
0
0
1
0
0
1.73
0.8
3.53
4
Tasmanian Tigers Men
TAS
1
0
0
1
0
0
1.31
0.2
2.51
5
South Australia Men
SA
1
0
1
0
0
0
0.87
0.9
1.77
6
Western Australia Men
WA
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points