Australia have selected four specialist pacers - Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland - for the summit clash.
As Australia prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final, they will have a selection headache in the pace-bowling department. They have selected four specialist pacers – Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland – for the summit clash.
While Starc and Cummins are automatic selections, the management must choose between Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland for the third pacer slot. While Hazlewood has regained full fitness, he has often crumbled midway through a Test, which must be in the think-tank’s mind.
Boland, who had three months off, worked on his right knee and is free from pain after battling soreness for the last 18 months. He understands the current situation regarding the lack of a spot in the XI and wants to make the job harder for selectors with his bowling.
“I probably felt like at the back end of the Shield season, my knee was sort of, not wearing away, but wasn’t going how I wanted to go. And I didn’t feel like I was bowling how I wanted. But now I feel like I’m in a really good spot that I can bowl how I want to bowl. It’s pulling up really well, so that’s all I can do, and I just want to make their decision as hard as possible.”
Scott Boland has done immensely well in his short Test career, taking plenty of wickets in almost every game. He has 56 wickets at an average of 17.66 and a 38.23 strike rate in 25 innings, including two five-wicket hauls.
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He had an exceptional Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he was the third-leading wicket-taker despite playing only three games. Boland snared 21 wickets at 13.19 runs apiece in six outings, comprising one four-wicket and a five-wicket haul.
During the previous WTC final in 2023, he took two wickets in the first innings and three in the second, playing an instrumental role in Australia’s emphatic victory by 209 runs. Still, Josh Hazlewood might get the nod ahead of him, given his previous experience playing at Lord’s.
Hazlewood has 13 wickets at an average of 26.15 in six innings at this venue and can adapt better than Boland, who is more suited to the Australian conditions. He is also in great rhythm and bowled exceptionally well in IPL 2025 while playing for the victorious Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
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