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Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has strongly hinted at Scott Boland's inclusion in the first Test against South Africa, starting on Saturday, December 17, at the Gabba. McDonald believes the right-arm seamer has done no wrong and deserves to play, given his record in Test cricket.
Boland was included in the Australian team for the second Test against the West Indies in Adelaide as a last-minute replacement for skipper Pat Cummins, who was ruled out due to injury.
Although the Victorian went wicketless in the first innings, he was impactful in the second, picking up three scalps in the same over to skittle out the tourists for a paltry 77.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Australia's departure to Brisbane, McDonald hinted that Boland will be the third seamer alongside Mitchell Starc and skipper Cummins in the opening Test against South Africa. He stated:
"Expecting Scott to take that spot at the Gabba. That's the running line, and he's done nothing wrong. His record is amazing at the moment, so he'll take his place and the assumption is that Pat does play. So you've got Cummins, Starc and Boland, with (allrounder Cameron) Green and (spinner Nathan) Lyon to support around that."
The 33-year-old made his Test debut against England in the Ashes last year and left the tourists dazed. On his debut in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Boland claimed a wicket in the first innings, followed by impressive figures of 4-1-7-6 in the second essay to demolish England.
"It's something that is forced upon us" - Andrew McDonald on rotating the fast bowlers
McDonald also stressed the need to rotate Australia's fast bowlers following Josh Hazlewood's injury earlier in the summer and said the Aussies would have chopped and changed their pacers even if there were no injury concerns. He added:
It's an arduous task, probably a little bit tougher for the players to manage their way through summer. We've already seen we've had some casualties early on in the summer. It's just a reality, the games keep coming.
"Last year it was Covid and injuries as well, so rotation wasn't by design nor has it been this early in the summer. It's something that is forced upon us. Would we have the same mentality if we were all fully fit? Yeah, potentially."
Despite being in good form, the Aussies will be wary of the Proteas, who have a formidable pace-bowling unit and have won their last three series in Australia.
