One becomes two at skipper’s urging
PAT Cummins has spoken of his relief at helping haul “bulldozer” Scott Boland into the Sydney Test and out of the biggest and loneliest club in Australian cricket.
Boland’s magical 6-7 at the MCG will live in the history books and the memories of those who saw it, but the 32year-old has now gone a step further by escaping the purgatory that is to be cast as a one-Test wonder.
On Boxing Day, Boland became the 463rd man to play Test cricket for Australia – but of that number, 72 have only played one Test.
At 32 and with Josh Hazlewood to return from injury at some point in such a rich era for outstanding fast bowlers, it is possible that had Boland not been selected in Sydney he may never have had another opportunity.
Cummins was a one-Test wonder for five years and is glad the flat track “bulldozer” has the chance to extend his fairytale.
“It’s just huge. I spent about five years sitting on one Test and I hated it when people talked about it because I felt I hadn’t proven anything – I’d only done one Test match,” he said.
“It’s just great. He’s bowling as well as he ever has. It’s great that he can just keep going from last week and have another crack here.
“I doubt it’s going to be 6-7, but I did say to him, ‘we’ll take last week, nothing more than that – so don’t try any harder’.”
While there is no escaping from the fact injury to Hazlewood (side strain) and Jhye Richardson (shin) has opened the door for Boland, selectors had earmarked him months’ in advance for the Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.
His draught horse physique and ability to bowl stump to stump on flat pitches for hours on end provides balance to an attack that can allow Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green to take turns firing cannons from the other end.
“There’s not a lot of swing here and even not a lot of bounce. So you need that bulldozer bowler who will just give you 50 overs in a Test,” Cummins said.
“You need a really good economical, challenging fast bowler who’s going to challenge the knee roll of the batters and I just think that suits him to a T.
“He’s done that for Victoria for a number of years. He’s done that at the MCG when it’s been flat – he’s done that pretty well.
“He’s super experienced. He’s played 80 odd games. You know what you’re going to get. So you just feel like you can walk in and know he’s going to do a great job straight away.
“There’s a bit of grass ... maybe day one or two it might nip around and then probably just holds together.”
Cummins said Hazlewood hoped to return for the final Test in Hobart next week, while Richardson’s shin problem was not a long-term issue.