Ashes 2021-22: Australia team news for the Fourth Test at SCG
Usually taking 6-7 in an Ashes Test has your name written in pen on the team sheet - not for Scott Boland whose selection is at the mercy of Josh Hazlewood’s decision.
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Josh Hazlewood has been empowered to decide whether he returns at the SCG – which could force magic man Scott Boland out of the Test team 10 days after receiving his baggy green from Hazlewood.
Hazlewood bowled off a short run-up for about 35 minutes in the MCG nets on Thursday and is confident the side strain he suffered 26 days before the start of next week’s Test won’t stop him from lighting up his home ground.
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The 30-year-old will fly to Sydney on Friday, where he has up to three sessions in the SCG nets to get match fit for Wednesday.
Chairman of selectors George Bailey said Boland’s 6-7 blast to swiftly deliver Ashes glory at the MCG had created “a great headache” as Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson (shin) close in on their return from injury.
If Hazlewood returns then Boland’s best chance of keeping his place in the team would be for Ashes leading wicket-taker Mitchell Starc to sit out at the SCG ahead of the day-night Test in Hobart.
Nobody in the world has taken more pink-ball wickets than Starc while he and Englishman Ollie Robinson are the only quicks to play all three games so far.
Boland had been earmarked for the MCG and SCG Tests as a grunt bowler who can power through long spells, although the shortest MCG Test in 71 years has helped Starc’s bid to play in all five Tests.
Bailey said Starc was in career-best form with 13 of the strike weapon’s 14 wickets coming against England’s top seven batsmen.
Ball-tracking data has revealed that no country has ever bowled as fast or as accurately as Australia in the first three Tests, with 38 per cent of deliveries clocked at more than 140km and 41 per cent on a good line and length.
Through adversity India unleashed 10 specialist bowlers in last summer’s stunning 2-1 Border Gavaskar series win against Australia and a similar set of circumstances has helped the Aussies beef up their stocks with star performances from Boland, fellow debutant Michael Neser and 25-year-old Richardson.
“We’ve spoken a lot about our desire to build some depth and build some robustness within our teams,” Bailey said.
“I’ve got pretty good faith in Hoff (Hazlewood) knowing his own body and trusting his own body.
“He’ll talk a lot with (senior assistant coach) Andrew McDonald and (physio) David Beakley to see how he’s going.
“I’ve got pretty good faith that if Hoff’s confident and he says he’s right to go I think we back him in. He’s earned that trust.”
Bailey dismissed suggestions that a softer approach could be used given the series is over at 3-0.
“They put a hell of a lot of pride and effort into each and every Test,” Bailey said.
“I don’t think the series being wrapped up will take away from that. For ‘Hoff’ in particular the opportunity to play a Test match in his home state as well, there’s always plenty to play for.
“Effectively today would have been day five (at the MCG). So our quicks, in particular, not having as heavier workload as they had in Adelaide and a couple of extra days off which will all work in their favour.”
Test great praises Australia’s incredible pace depth
The Sydney Cricket Ground deck that angered Australia last year could become Scott Boland’s greatest friend as the magic man fights to extend his Ashes fairytale.
News Corp understands the key strategy behind one of the great selection masterstrokes of all time on Boxing Day, was Australia’s brave cricket selectors identifying Boland as a flat-wicket terminator.
Boland is well-placed to win a five-way selection shootout for the fourth Test because selectors believe he can protect his fellow prized quicks Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc from the risk of redlining if the Sydney pitch presents as another backbreaker as it did last summer.
Selectors looking for natural ways of building depth within its fast bowling ranks had long earmarked Boland as a potential candidate for the MCG and SCG not only because of his strong body and ability to bowl lots of overs on attritional pitches – but also because he takes wickets on those surfaces by attacking the stumps.
Josh Hazlewood is set to have his first bowl in 19 days on Thursday at the MCG nets, but the fast bowler is racing the clock to return from his side strain issue for Sydney given he may only get three sessions under his belt before the Test starts.
The strategy from selectors has been to pick bowling attacks that work together as a combination rather than just selecting quicks on how they bowl individually — and if Hazlewood is ruled out, it’s Boland’s status as a workhorse which could make him a key piece in Sydney even if Jhye Richardson might be seen as overall the better out-and-out bowler.
Star batsman David Warner said the fact Hazlewood, Boland, Richardson, Michael Neser and Mitchell Swepson were all effectively vying for one spot has made Australia “unstoppable” as they surge for an Ashes clean-sweep.
“Boland might have to exit for that (Hazlewood or Richardson return),” Warner said. “These are conversations that are going to come up in the next couple of days.
“We’ve got a very balanced team. You’ve got great camaraderie in the team. Last year really hurt losing on home soil.
“When we’ve got our full-strength team together, we’re quite unstoppable.
“You look at our fast bowling unit. It’s been a long time since we’ve had new guys come in and bowl as well as they have.
“The guys who have come in off the bench have had an impact right away. You look at Jhye and Bolo taking five-fers in back-to-back Tests, and Ness coming in for his first game last game as well. We’ve got great stock in reserve.”
Australia coach Justin Langer was reportedly angered by last summer’s SCG pitch that produced an energy-sapping draw against India, although rain made preparation difficult for the Sydney curators before the Test.
Former Australian selector and Test quick Merv Hughes said Boland’s effort would not force a restructure at the very top of Australia’s fast bowling pecking order but that he was now a key part of an ensemble that has given the selectors unprecedented depth.
“To be honest, if everyone is fit, then Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood just play in Sydney but I have severe doubts Hazlewood will play given he’s had a side strain and there is no need to push him because you have won the series,’’ Hughes said.
“If Richardson and Neser are fit, the burning question is what do you do with Boland? Had they not been sore after Adelaide he might not have got a game in Melbourne.
“The rule of thumb is generally you respect the incumbents but Australia’s skill and depth have been tested and it’s answered every question.
“The selectors will be criticised no matter what they do but they will still be sitting back and smiling because Australian cricket is in a great position.
“The options they have got. It’s not just A, B, C, D but E and F as well. There will be no fear factor now for anyone they had to choose. Even if they lost Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood for a Test they could choose Boland, Richardson and Neser.”
Crash: Why Swepson should play at the SCG
-Robert Craddock
In a perverse piece of cricket logic, New Zealand’s decision to axe spinner Ajaz Patel after he took 10 wickets in an innings provides an argument and an alibi for Australia to blood Mitchell Swepson.
Patel became just the third Test bowler in history to take all 10 wickets in an innings when he skittled India on a turning deck in Mumbai this month only to miss out on the Kiwis’ 13-man squad for next month’s Tests against Bangladesh on seam-friendly home decks.
The logic that cost Patel his place – that pitch conditions can mean more than the most spectacular recent statistics when choosing a Test attack – can also be used in reverse to support Swepson’s case for his first baggy green cap at the SCG next week.
There will be plenty of hard-luck stories among the fast bowling ranks if Swepson gets a gig … but not even Scott Boland took 10 wickets in his last innings.
If the underestimated Swepson is chosen – and Australia are desperate to give him some exposure before the three-Test tour of Pakistan in February-March – Australia can pick just two fast bowlers.
Captain Pat Cummins is the first man in, with the chance that just one could be chosen from Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Boland, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser, who finds himself the No.6 option despite an honourable showing in his only Test two weeks ago.
Australia was overjoyed to hand Neser his first Test cap given he has been on the periphery for more than two years but Swepson has actually been waiting for longer, having been added to Australia’s squad for the 2017 Indian tour.
Time spent in the waiting room should never be the prime consideration for promotion but Swepson is certain to play in Pakistan so the sooner the bubble of “first Test’’ anxiety is punctured the better.
As Cummins said at his Ashes-winning press conference, the benefits of playing Swepson in Sydney are significant in that it gives him a taste of Test cricket and sweeps away the initial nerves of donning the cap which has been floating just out of his reach for four years.
And, let’s face it, bowling to this limited England side does have a shooting fish in a barrel feel about it. You sense that every child will win a prize. It could be great for his confidence.
The one key variable surrounding Swepson’s selection is the state of the SCG pitch which, over the past decade, has lost its charm for slow bowlers. Nathan Lyon has played 10 Tests there and averages 41 per wicket. It’s one of his toughest venues.
With a tour of Pakistan just months away it makes absolute sense, though, for curators to prepare a turning deck.
Even if Swepson is omitted in Sydney, there will be plenty of hard-luck stories among the bowlers, which is unusual. Most decent Test match bowlers get the exposure they deserve.
Australian Test history is littered with excellent Sheffield Shield keepers like Darren Berry, who could have played 100 Tests but played none, and dotted with occasional batting hard-luck stories like Jamie Cox and Jamie Siddons, who Steve Waugh once branded “as good as (brother) Mark or me”.
Neither Cox nor Siddons played a Test.
But there are not many cases of outstanding fast men being constantly starved of decent exposure.
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Originally published as Ashes 2021-22: Australia team news for the Fourth Test at SCG
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