Scott Boland insists he’s a ‘better bowler’ now compared to his last Ashes series and is excited by the prospect of facing England on our seamer-friendly wickets later this year. But the Aussie fan favourite doesn’t expect veteran spinner Nathan Lyon to be dropped at his expense, despite former Test star Brendan Julian calling for selectors to use a four-pronged pace attack in at least some of the Ashes Tests.
Boland had a dream Ashes debut during the home series in 2021-22 when he famously took figures of 6-7 in four overs during the Boxing Day Test as Australia retained the famous urn. Boland took 18 wickets at 9.55 in that Ashes series but struggled two years later in England, where he took just two wickets at 115.50 after featuring in just two Tests at Edgbaston and Headingley.
Aussie quick Scott Boland does not think Test selectors will drop Nathan Lyon and opt for a four-pronged pace attack during the Ashes series. Pic: Getty
But Boland’s Test record at home is nothing short of extraordinary and the nature of Australia’s pace-friendly pitches strengthens the case for his inclusion. The Victorian accepts that he’s behind star pace trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the Aussie pecking order, but declared he’ll be ready to go if called upon to get another crack in the Ashes.
“I’ve obviously thought about it a lot since it happened in 2023,” Boland said. “But I still think there were times in England where I bowled pretty well and just didn’t get a wicket. I’m a better bowler than I was back then. I’m going to be in our conditions that I know really, really well. I’m hoping to put in some good performances.”
Some have called for Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon (R) to be dropped for the Ashes series opener against England and Scott Boland (L) included in an all-out pace attack. Pic: Getty
Scott Boland throws Ashes support behind Nathan Lyon
Boland was picked ahead of Lyon in Australia’s last Test match in Jamaica, where he took a stunning hat-trick to help bowl the West Indies out for 27 as Australia completed a 3-0 series whitewash. It came during extreme extreme conditions in Jamaica played with a pink Dukes ball, but Boland can’t see selectors going with a four-pronged pace attack again in Australia, particularly with all-rounder Cameron Green set to return to the bowling attack.
“I hope so, but probably not in Australia,” Boland said. “Nathan’s one of the best spin bowlers in the world, so I think he can bowl in any conditions. He’s probably been the glue to our bowling line-up over the last few years. And then I probably see Greeny [Cameron Green] coming back and bowling a lot more, he obviously hasn’t bowled for 12 months, so that probably hurts the chances of four quicks as well.”
Lyon has been an almost ever-present in the Test attack for more than a decade and is Australia’s third-greatest Test wicket-taker of all time, with 553 scalps. However, he did find himself on the periphery in the previous home series against India, where he featured sparingly with the ball and only managed nine wickets across the five Tests.
In comparison, Boland finished the series with the second-most wickets (21 @ 13.19) for Australia – just four behind Cummins (25 @ 21.36). And that was despite playing two fewer Tests than the skipper. And Boland expects the quicks will once again have a massive say during the Ashes, against the aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach of England’s batters.
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“If the wickets stay similar to what they’ve been over the last few years, I think we’re going to be in the game all the time,” he added. “There were little parts of the England tour last time, when the ball sort of moved around and favoured the bowlers, but generally over there, the wickets have been a bit flatter. And then when you come to Australia, certainly the last three or four years, they’ve been bowler friendly.”