On the first day of the Ashes Test in Perth, the England batsmen dominated Scott Boland, giving up almost six runs per over. On the other hand, despite Australia’s lack of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc destroyed the visitors with a seven-wicket haul in the first innings.
Boland’s costly spell raised questions about whether England’s aggressive strategy had outplayed him. On the second day, however, the right-arm seamer produced a magnificent three-wicket burst in response. In just 11 balls, he dismissed Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, and Ollie Pope, turning the tide decisively back in Australia’s favour.
“It probably simply shows me that when I’m in the appropriate places, my nice stuff is good enough for everyone, regardless of who it’s to. Before the second Test at the Gabba, Boland stated, “I think that gives me a little bit of confidence that if I’m nailing my game… I’m good enough to compete with anyone,” according to ESPNcricinfo.
Boland kept the ball broader and away from the batters’ bodies by correcting his line and length in the second innings after overpitching too often in the first. Following the game, head coach Andrew McDonald admitted that Boland’s strategies with the new ball on the first day were partially the result of the team’s early intentions.
“I believe Ronnie treats me fairly well there. It was just one of those days where I thought I was pitching myself too high. With the new ball, I obviously wanted to start a little bit fuller than usual, but I think I bowled seven or eight half-volleys, and they all went for four.
“You think it’s [going] a little bit better on some days when half of them don’t,” Boland remarked.
“I was quite pleased with my recovery in the second inning. I returned to my natural length in a sense. Things I know I’m quite excellent at. Since I don’t usually bowl a lot of half-volleys, I was clearly rather dissatisfied with my performance in the first innings,” he continued.
Boland expects similar techniques to be used because the Gabba surface is expected to offer decent pace and carry, albeit maybe not to the same extent as Perth Stadium. In spite of the larger boundaries at most Australian grounds, the 36-year-old, who averages a remarkable 13.16 from four day-night Test matches, thinks the short ball will continue to be a vital weapon.
But Boland noted that as Australia’s quicks resorted to hammering the ball in, England’s lower order demonstrated resistance in the second innings, with Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse scoring a quick 50 runs off just 36 balls.
“The size of the ground undoubtedly has a significant impact on that. Perth Stadium has enormous pockets and is very wide. And this ground is pretty much the same. similar to the SCG and MCG. Probably the only one that is somewhat different is Adelaide. That, I believe, worked to our advantage,” Boland remarked.
“They [England] experimented with various bouncer schemes, some of which were successful at certain points in time. I believe that you can occasionally leak runs very quickly when you do use that bouncer scheme. We probably had them at 6 for 80 [88] before we kind of switched to full-on bouncer tactics and let a few runs go, but we still managed to get some wickets. It went really quickly in the first inning, and then they played a little bit better in the second. Therefore, I believe we’ll just be making adjustments as we go,” he continued.
Despite not being included in the squad, there has been some speculation this week about whether Cummins could enter the Brisbane Test late as he intensifies his comeback to bowling. But the more likely prospect is still a return in Adelaide.
“He looked in red-hot form the other night, as good as you’ll see [from] a fast bowler charging in in the nets,” Boland stated.
India
