‘He Is A Freak’: Brett Lee Lauds Scott Boland Amidst IND vs AUS 5th Test
Speaking to reporters at Sydney on Saturday, Lee talked about Boland. “He is a freak. He is good everywhere. He is good here because the wicket suits him. Boland is Mr Consistent. His action makes him good, his consistency, his temperament. And he’s under the radar. He is literally the world’s nicest guy, he does not ask for the accolades, and he catches people off guard.” However, Lee feels that the famed Aussie pace trio will always be the first choice for the team because of how much they have achieved for the team.
“My gut says you have to pick those three (Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood) guys every day of the week,” he said. “They have achieved so much. Starc and Cummins are obviously playing now because they are fully fit but if Hazlewood gets his fitness back and is ready to play, unfortunately you have to go with Josh Hazlewood, and when I say unfortunately, unfortunately for Scott Boland. A fit Josh Hazlewood gets into any Test line-up, in my opinion,” he added.
In three matches of the ongoing series against India so far, Boland has taken 19 wickets at an average of 14.42, with best figures of 4/31 and two four-wicket hauls to his name. He is the third-highest wicket-taker in the series, having dismissed Virat Kohli four times. Boland’s home record continues to be stunning, having taken 47 wickets in just nine Tests at an average of 13.10 and best figures of 6/7. In 13 Tests overall, Boland has taken 54 wickets at an average of 18.25, with best bowling figures of 6/7.
He compared Boland’s situation to former spinner MacGill who despite his genius as a spinner, could play only 44 Tests for Australia due to presence of legendary Shane Warne throughout his career, taking 208 wickets at an average of 29.02. “It’s a bit like MacGill and Warne, that is probably the best analogy I could say,” said Lee. Coming to the SCG Test, India won the toss and elected to bat first. India was off to a disappointing start yet again as the top order threw away their wickets, especially Virat Kohli (17) who continued his struggles with outside off-stump deliveries.
However, the fight by Pant (40 in 98 balls, with three fours and a six), Ravindra Jadeja (26 in 95 balls, with three fours) and skipper Jasprit Bumrah (22 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six) pushed India to 185/10 in 72.2 overs. Boland (4/31) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies and once again a thorn in the eyes of Indian batters. Mitchell Starc took 3/49 while Pat Cummins got 2/37. In their first innings, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals even when Jasprit Bumrah (2/33) walked off the field due to an injury scare. Under the stand-in skipper Virat, India continued to dominate the Aussies, skittling them out for just 181 runs and taking a four-run lead. Debutant Beau Webster (57 in 105 balls, with five fours) had a fine showing with the bat and Steve Smith (33 in 57 balls, with four boundaries and a six) showed some attacking intent.
Prasidh Krishna (3/42) and Mohammed Siraj (3/51) were the top bowlers for India. In their second innings, despite a promising start by Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 in 35 balls, with four boundaries) and KL Rahul (13), Indian batters fell to trap of Boland’s (4/42) impressive lines and lengths, with KL, Shubman Gill (13), Virat (6), Nitish Kumar Reddy (8) falling cheaply to consolidate Australia’s position in the match. At the end of the day, India made 141/6, with Jadeja (8*) and Sundar (6*) at the crease.
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