From Knee Pain to Cricket Pain: Boland’s Mission to Trouble the Selectors

Scott Boland has always been the unassuming contributor to Australia’s pace attack, perhaps not the most spectacular, but the most effective. Following 18 months of knee pain, Boland is finally pain-free and eager to get back bowling, just ahead of the World Test Championship final. Josh Hazlewood is back fit and firing after a great IPL season, so the fight for a place in the playing XI has just got a lot more interesting. Boland’s objective is straightforward—force the selectors into a tough decision. But will he rise to the challenge?

Boland’s Road to Recovery and Readiness

Boland’s knee problems have been a persistent battle since the beginning of 2023, but he has managed to grind through it, sometimes at the expense of his best bowling. After the conclusion of the Sheffield Shield season in March, Boland had three months off purely dedicated to rehab and building strength. After a year and a half, he says the pain is finally gone.

That’s huge. For a fast bowler, being 100% fit is paramount. He admits, towards the end of the Shield season, his knee wasn’t cooperating, and his bowling suffered. Now he is back bowling exactly how he wants, fit and strong. That fitness improvement could mean the difference, especially when selectors are taking into consideration how much you can endure, playing in a long Test match.

Although Boland has been rehabilitating, Hazlewood has been on fire in the IPL, taking 22 wickets and playing a big part in the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first title. So clearly there is a contrast: Hazlewood is match-hardened and in rhythm, while Boland is fresh and not injured, but does not have any recent match practice.

Match Fitness: Does It Trump Freshness?

A hot topic on everyone’s lips is whether match fitness from constant cricket can be better being rested and pain-free. Australia’s build-up to the WTC final has meant they’re not playing practice matches but rather will work through seven solid days of net sessions in Beckenham, just outside of London.

Boland says he prefers as he thinks he can get just as much out of good training as he can from a practice match. The net conditions there are a good reflection of match conditions with great pitches and run-ups. Australia probably took a risk, but it paid off for them in the last WTC final.

The Lord’s Factor and the Selector’s Dilemma

A key consideration is that Boland hasn’t featured at Lord’s before, while Hazlewood has taken 13 wickets in three Tests at the famous stadium.  Not only has Hazlewood played at the “Home of Cricket”, but that is also something they can weigh in selectors’ minds.

However, Boland has shown he can cope with the pressure of the big moments he faced in the Border-Gavaskar Series and the last WTC final. He is a simple formula bowler, consistent lines, lengths, and bowls to the conditions. If Australia decides to play a pace bowler instead of an allrounder, given Hazlewood has a track record for injury, it may come down to Boland’s fitness and reliability.

The narrative of Scott Boland’s revival centers on endurance and calm perseverance. Being pain-free and physically prepared allows him to say that he has done all that he could to put pressure on the selectors for a spot in the WTC final XI. The selectors now have a tough call, with Hazlewood both fit and performing well.

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