MELBOURNE: Australian setter Scott Boland will play the second Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Melbourne with an ‘underdone’ Josh Hazlewood missed again, captain Pat Cummins said Sunday.
Boland replaced injured fast bowler Hazlewood in the first Test in Brisbane and was a key performer with his searing form making him virtually impossible to let go.
He is now assured of another test on his home ground – where he won an incredible 6-7 on his debut against England a year ago, cementing himself in Ashes folklore.
Cummins told reporters the side were unchanged from the side that won by six wickets in two days at a bowlers-unfriendly Gabba ground in Brisbane last week.
“We gave Joshy every chance, (but) he just got to a stage where (he) more than anyone felt like he was a little underrated,” he said.
“It’s really a mark of the man, he himself said ‘I don’t feel quite well’, so he kind of dropped out of the selection.
“We talk a lot about how (as a team) we need a team mentality, and I think that’s another great example.
Hazlewood missed the last two Australian Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane due to lateral strain but had been training hard in preparation for Melbourne, where hot and humid conditions are expected.
Boland has taken 25 wickets at 10.33am since making his MCG debut a year ago and said on Friday he hoped his local knowledge would give him the edge over Hazlewood.
“We are in a very good position with our stocks of fast pins,” he said.
“We said in the last game it would take five, six, seven fast bowlers to get five Tests here (at home), four in India and then another five or six in England (next year).
The Boxing Day Test will be David Warner’s 100th, the fly-half struggling to end a meager run that has seen some question his position at the side.
He’s only 78 runs away from 8,000 tests and is committed to getting back to his best.
“It could be a wicket where I can go out and play like the old me,” he said.
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
Boland replaced injured fast bowler Hazlewood in the first Test in Brisbane and was a key performer with his searing form making him virtually impossible to let go.
He is now assured of another test on his home ground – where he won an incredible 6-7 on his debut against England a year ago, cementing himself in Ashes folklore.
Cummins told reporters the side were unchanged from the side that won by six wickets in two days at a bowlers-unfriendly Gabba ground in Brisbane last week.
“We gave Joshy every chance, (but) he just got to a stage where (he) more than anyone felt like he was a little underrated,” he said.
“It’s really a mark of the man, he himself said ‘I don’t feel quite well’, so he kind of dropped out of the selection.
“We talk a lot about how (as a team) we need a team mentality, and I think that’s another great example.
Hazlewood missed the last two Australian Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane due to lateral strain but had been training hard in preparation for Melbourne, where hot and humid conditions are expected.
Boland has taken 25 wickets at 10.33am since making his MCG debut a year ago and said on Friday he hoped his local knowledge would give him the edge over Hazlewood.
“We are in a very good position with our stocks of fast pins,” he said.
“We said in the last game it would take five, six, seven fast bowlers to get five Tests here (at home), four in India and then another five or six in England (next year).
The Boxing Day Test will be David Warner’s 100th, the fly-half struggling to end a meager run that has seen some question his position at the side.
He’s only 78 runs away from 8,000 tests and is committed to getting back to his best.
“It could be a wicket where I can go out and play like the old me,” he said.
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
