Pat Cummins has hailed the bowling of Scott Boland in the Melbourne Test as his 6/7 helped Australia win by an innings and 14 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes series against England.
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Scott Boland produced a mastery of seam bowling on day 3 of the MCG Test against England. In four overs of absolute brilliance, Boland thrilled his home fans with a haul of 6/7 and helped Australia bowl England out for a miserable 68. The innings and 14-run win at the MCG helped Australia take an unassailable 3-0 lead and ensure the Urn stayed Down Under for another couple of years. Speaking in the post-match presentation, Australia skipper Pat Cummins hailed the performance of Boland but he was not prepared for a spell of 6/7.
“Thrilled for Scott Boland playing in front of his home crowd here. We knew whoever steps in will do a great job and were really confident that Scotty would do a great job; maybe not 6 for 7,” Cummins happily said in the post-match presentation.
When Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins missed the Adelaide Test due to a side strain and COVID-19 scare, there was concern about how Australia would take 20 English wickets. But, in Adelaide, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser stepped up to the plate. Richardson ended with his maiden five-wicket haul and Australia won by 275 runs. In Melbourne, Scott Boland filled the gap left by Josh Hazlewood’s continued absence and he stepped up to the plate.
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Cummins has stated that the bowling attack in this Ashes series has been relentless. “The bowlers have just turned up and owned their areas outside off-stump. There have been big partnerships, everyone’s performed, everyone’s contributed – it’s a great feeling. Neser was disappointed after bowling so well last week to not get a chance in this game. But we have a big pool to pick from,” Cummins said.
Australia has now won 12 out of the last 13 Tests that they have played against England Down Under. In 2013/14, Australia whitewashed England 5-0 and in the next series in 2017/18, they won 4-0. With Australia already up 3-0 against an England side with low confidence, Cummins has stated that Australia will go in for the kill.
“Any Ashes series is where you make a mark in Test cricket. The last series was 4-0, the one before that was 5-0, and it is a chance for us to cement our identity in the next few years,” Cummins said.
The fourth Ashes Test will take place on January 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. But, both teams will be monitoring the coronavirus situation that has worsened in Sydney over the last couple of days.
