Scott Boland took 6/7 in a brilliant display of bowling as Australia thrashed England by an innings and 14 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series.
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When Scott Boland was picked for his debut at the Melbourne Boxing Day Ashes Test against England, he had already created history. Boland became just the fourth indigenous Australian to feature in a Test. Scott Boland belongs to the Gulidjan tribe in Victoria. He joined Jason Gillespie, Faith Thomas, and Ashleigh Gardner in joining the elite rank of indigenous Australians.
In a matter of three days, Boland showed his class and thrilled the Melbourne Cricket Ground and fans with his bowling. On days 2 and 3, Boland finished with unbelievable figures of 6/7 to bowl England out for 68. It was the second cheapest six-wicket haul in Test history after Jermaine Lawson’s 6/3 against Bangladesh in 2002. The Test lasted only 1084 balls, which was the shortest in 70 years in Australia.
Boland’s indigenous roots had made him a hero and his exploits helped him win the Johnny Mullagh medal after he was named Player of the Match. Mullagh, who was also from Victoria was one of the leading players in the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England. It is the story of Mullagh that inspired Boland just before the Ashes Test in 2021.
“There were about 17 of us who learned about that tour of 1868. My family and I are very proud about winning this award,” Boland said after winning the Man of the Match award.
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Backed by a raucous 40,000 crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Boland had his tail up on day 2. He dismissed Haseeb Hameed and Jack Leach in the second-last over of the day. The momentum went into day 3 when Boland took just 19 balls to complete one of the best five-wicket hauls in Australian Ashes history. It was considered by many experts as one of the best Ashes spells in modern times. Speaking about the achievement, Boland said the feeling was unbelievable.
“We thought we had a chance of winning today when we came in, but just not so quickly. I came to know on Christmas Eve, and had a lot of support from teammates and family. It was a big step up from anything that I have played, and I knew it would be tough. I want to thank the crowd for all their support over the last three days, really appreciate it. Those are my best-ever figures, nothing has happened this quickly before,” Boland said.
Boland might have to make way for Josh Hazlewood in the Sydney Test. But, the right-arm pacer has played a massive role in Australia securing the Urn yet again. Boland’s spell on December 28 will forever go down as one of the turning points of the Ashes.
