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Perth: Scott Boland found Ashes redemption during a frantic 21 minutes that turned the first Test on its head.
After a bruising start to the series, the cult hero of Australian cricket hauled himself off the canvas on Saturday with a brilliant 11-ball burst that vindicated his quiet confidence he can be a force against “Bazball”.
Scott Boland bounced back in style in stunning scenes on day two in Perth.Credit: Getty Images
Tummies may have been full after lunch, but hope was fading among the Australian contingent at Optus Stadium until Boland’s timely intervention.
Just as it appeared England were tightening their hold on the Ashes opener, Boland was rewarded for an overnight change of strategy back to the formula that has been so successful for the Victorian late bloomer.
His figures of 4-33 are his best against England since they adopted Brendon McCullum’s ultra-aggressive game style.
Guilty of bowling too full on the first day with the new ball, Boland pulled back his length and unzipped England’s middle order. His triple strikes included “Bazball” brawlers Ben Duckett and Harry Brook, who perished in Boland’s channel outside off stump.
With a slightly shorter length, Boland produced the extra bounce and movement off the seam to catch the outside edge high up on Duckett’s bat.
His dismissal at 1.06pm local time sparked a feeding frenzy for Boland, who himself had been feasted upon 24 hours earlier when he was plundered for 62 runs from 10 wicketless overs in his worst performance on home soil.
Ollie Pope departed 11 minutes later after launching at an expansive drive and being caught behind. It was just reward for Boland, who had Pope playing and missing numerous times.
Brook, whose weaknesses on the pitch map are in Boland’s most successful zones, could not suppress his aggressive urges, also nicking off driving on the up.
“England really had the wood on him in the contest yesterday – he needed to go away and come back better today,” Trent Copeland, the former Test seamer and analyst on Seven, said.
“And that ball there, [that’s] a beautiful example of what has changed. So, innings one yesterday, this was him: 29 per cent operating in the full territory and quite scattered going at over six runs an over.
“Then roll into today. Watch this green zone. Zero per cent too full. In this zone here, 37 per cent, that’s six to eight metres. He’s operating in much more dangerous territory and Australia really need him to go alongside Mitchell Starc today.”
Boland did more than that, leading the way and allowing Starc to ride in his slipstream.
The visitors’ extravagance with the bat, an example of what former England captain Michael Vaughan describes as “Bazball without brains”, was proof McCullum’s men are yet to strike the balance between aggression and the match situation.
“It’s just really poor batting,” former Australia coach, batting great and local legend Justin Langer said.
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“I don’t care what anyone says, ‘Oh you play like this, you play like that’, if you do your preparation … to come to Perth, one, you’ve got to take some time to get in, usually 25 to 30 balls to get in. Be patient, watch the ball.
“Second thing is, driving on the up here in Perth, this has been going on for decades, not just for this Test series. [That’s] very, very poor batting by England.”
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