The Australian head coach has warned England of another cause of threat, except for the "Big Three."
The highly anticipated Ashes 2025 is inching closer with each passing day, and the Australian head coach, Andrew McDonald, has warned England of another cause of threat, except for the “Big Three.” Besides the pace-trio of captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the head coach has also shown immense belief in their fourth seamer, Scott Boland, ahead of the mega red-ball series.
The 36-year-old has not had one of his best tours while visiting England for the Ashes 2023. He managed just two scalps in as many matches at an average of 115.50, which entirely contradicts the Test stats of the pacer so far. However, following his average outing of 2023, the ex-English skipper Michael Atherton had expressed that the visitors are not wary of the bowler for their upcoming tour.
Notably, skipper Cummins’ participation in the series opener has raised uncertainty due to his persistent back injury. But the Aussies’ head coach McDonald has placed his faith in Boland, especially emphasising the home conditions and the high praise from the former Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, during the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series in 2024-25.
“I know there’s been some press around ‘England have worked Scott Boland out’. But when he comes back into the Australian conditions, he gets bounce. And as we saw last year against India, Rohit Sharma rated him the best [bowler] of that series. That’s a huge compliment from an opposing captain,” stated McDonald.
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Notably, the pacer holds a magnificent record in home Test fixtures. Since his debut at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) during Ashes 2021, he has bagged 49 wickets in nine matches, averaging an exceptional 12.63, at an economy of 2.41. His heroics at home also feature two fifers and a 10-wicket haul against India in the fifth and final Test of the latest BGT series.
During the previous Ashes on Australian soil, which was also the debut red-ball series of Boland, he started off by snaring a seven-wicket haul and went on to scalp 11 more wickets in the remaining two clashes, at an average of 9.55.
However, the Ashes 2025 will kickoff on November 21 in Perth. England have been whitewashed in three consecutive Ashes and are yet to win the prestigious series in Australia since 2010-11.
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