Scott Boland

Scott Michael Boland (born 11 April 1989) is an Australian cricketer. He plays for Victoria and the Hobart Hurricanes.^[1] In March 2019, he was named the Sheffield Shield Player of the Year by Cricket Australia.^[2] Boland is one of a handful of Indigenous Australians to be selected to play for Australia at international level, as of May 2021, is one of only five Aboriginal players to have played for Australia.^[3] He plays as a right arm fast-medium bowler.

Early career[]

Starting his career with Parkdale Cricket Club, Boland first played a competitive game for the club aged 6, in the under 12’s competition. He then rose through the ranks of Parkdale Cricket Club, before joining Victorian Premier Cricket club Frankston Peninsula at age 16, to further his cricketing development. Upon leaving Parkdale, Boland had played 41 matches in total for the club, taking 31 wickets at an average of 12.35.^[4] It was moving to Frankston that prompted Boland to work more on his bowling, at the behest of then coach Nick Jewell.^[5] After moving, Boland’s first two seasons were less productive, only playing six matches in first grade, with just three wickets. He fared much better in second grade, however, getting 37 wickets in the 2008/2009 season, at an average of 18.60.^[6] His next season proved more fruitful, where he played 20 matches for first grade, taking 27 wickets at an average of 27. Another consistent season with Frankston-Peninsula saw Boland take 33 wickets at an average of 25.3 in the 2010/2011 season, earning him a rookie state level contract with the Victorian Cricket team.^[5]

Domestic career[]

Despite a strong start to the 2011/2012 season with Frankston-Peninsula, Boland wasn’t called up to debut until Victoria’s fourth Sheffield Shield game of the season, coming up against Western Australia, on 11 November 2011. In this game, he bowled 25 overs, taking a total of 2/92 across the two innings.^[7] Despite this modest return, he would play the next game, taking 4/87 for the match.^[8] He went on to make another appearance in the Sheffield Shield this season against South Australia, taking 3/89, finishing the season with 9 wickets at an average of 29.77.^[9]

In the 2012/13 season, Boland was not a regular member of the Sheffield Shield or Ryobi Cup squad, playing in seven of Victoria’s games across both formats. In the Sheffield Shield, he took a total of 6 wickets across 5 innings, at an average of 41.83.^[10] His best figures this season came against South Australia at Adelaide Oval, where he took 3/30 in the fourth innings. These efforts were in vain, however, as South Australia went on to win by just 1 wicket. Boland fared better in the Ryobi Cup, finishing with he took 9 wickets at 27.11 for the tournament,^[11] and career best List A figures of 5/63, in another close loss against South Australia.

The 2013/14 season was much more productive for Boland, as he enjoyed an extended stay in Victoria’s teams for both the Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup tournaments. Boland played 9 matches in the Shield this season, taking 19 wickets at an average of 37.73.^[12] He also took figures of 5/84 in loss against South Australia. It was in this season that Boland compiled his highest score in professional cricket, coming in as a nightwatchman for Victoria and scoring 51 of 212 deliveries.^[13]

The 2013/14 Ryobi Cup was somewhat of a breakthrough for Boland, he played 6 matches, taking 9 wickets at 33.33, and was Victoria’s leading fast bowler during the tournament.^[14] His best figures of 3/42 came against New South Wales, his economical bowling crucial in restricting their total in a tight win.^[15]

The following season in 2014/15, Boland’s performances were again consistent, and he was now a mainstay in the Victorian attack. He played every match of Victoria’s Matador Cup campaign, claiming 9 wickets across the season at an average of 35.22,^[16] including defending 8 runs from the final over against New South Wales to win the game for the Victorian side. In the Sheffield Shield he played 8 games, including the final, taking 25 wickets at 30.12 along the way.^[17] His performances this season helped Victoria win their first Sheffield Shield title in 4 seasons.^[18] Amongst these performances was his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, taking 6/49.^[19]

Boland's wickets in each Sheffield Shield season

The 2015/16 season was a breakout season for Boland at both state and international level. Boland took a career-best 7/31 against Western Australia that got the attention of the national selectors, and he was added to the standby list for Australia’s test against the West Indies in Hobart.^[20] His performances across formats were strong, leading to an eventual selection to play for Australia against India in their tour of Australia in January 2016. At the end of the domestic season, he was awarded the Bill Lawry Medal as Victoria's best Sheffield Shield player, collecting 33 wickets at 20.93 on way to helping Victoria win another Sheffield Shield title. Boland took 7 wickets at 37.28 in the Matador Cup competition, another consistent season in the competition.

The 2017/18 season was another consistent season for Boland, as he claimed 38 wickets at 26.92 to finish the season as the 3rd highest wicket-taker, his best figures of 4/41 coming against South Australia, taking 8/129 for the match.^[21] Boland’s was mainstay of Victoria’s JLT One-Day cup, taking 6 wickets at 63.50 for the tournament.

The 2018/19 domestic season was another successful season for Boland. For Victoria in the Sheffield Shield Boland took 48 wickets, the most from Victoria, at a miserly average of 19.66.^[22] He took two 5 wickets hauls, taking 6/49 against New South Wales to bowl Victoria to an innings victory. He also took 7/54 in the first innings against South Australia to finish with figures of 9/102. These performances helped Boland on the way to claim the Sheffield Shield Player of the Season award.^[23]

International career[]

He made his Twenty20 International debut for Australia against India on 29 January 2016.^[24]

After consistent performances in the Ryobi Cup, Boland was selected in the ODI squad to take on India, in their tour of Australia. According to his state captain at the time, Matthew Wade, Boland was selected for his ability to bowl the final overs of the match, Wade saying: “He's worked really hard over the last 18 months to hone those skills and be a finisher. That's probably got him picked in the Australian team. His death stuff has been outstanding. He'll own that and he'll hopefully dominate that for us."^[25] He made his One Day International debut for Australia against India on 12 January 2016.^[26] He was selected to debut against India in the first match of the series, at the WACA ground. Boland went on to record figures of 0/74 off 10 overs, the worst figures by a debutant Australian bowler ever.^[27]

Notwithstanding this poor return on debut, Boland played for the rest of the series for Australia. He would pick up only 1 wicket across the other 4 games, conceding 259 runs in the process.^[28] His performances in the T20 internationals against India were also disappointing, playing in two of the three matches in this series, where he went wicket-less. Despite the poor return verses India, Boland was a mainstay in the Australian ODI team in 2016, playing all 14 of his ODI appearances this year.

He toured New Zealand with the Australian squad in February 2016, playing in the place of an injured Kane Richardson^[29] and recording figures of 2/61 and 2/59. Boland bowled well in the series, taking the crucial top order wickets throughout^[29] but it wasn’t enough to win the series, Australia falling to a 2-1 series loss.

Boland’s next international appearances came in a tri-series between West Indies, South Africa, and Australia in the West Indies. He was called into the squad after an injury to fellow Victorian John Hastings,^[30] and toured with the Australian squad, being named in the squad for 2 matches, one of which was cancelled due to weather. Boland played another, against the West Indies, where he took 2/69 from 10 overs, helping restrict the West Indies to 283, which Australia chased to win by 6 wickets.^[31]

His next run in the ODI team was in Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in July and August 2016, where Boland played in two of the five ODI matches on the tour, and one of the T20 internationals. In the ODI matches, he played twice, taking 2 wickets at 32,^[32] as Australia convincingly won the ODI series. In the T20 internationals Boland played in one match in the series fetching 3/26 from his 4 overs in the match, for his best T20 figures in his career.^[33]

In 2018 Boland was selected in the Aboriginal XI that was to tour England to celebrate the famous 1868 Indigenous team that traveled over to England. He, alongside team-mate Dan Christian, and his brother, Nick Boland, were amongst a squad of 13 selected to play matches to commemorate the 150th year since the famous Indigenous tour. The 1868 Indigenous tour is an incredibly important moment in Aboriginal culture, as it was one of the first times they were represented internationally.^[34] Due to this lack of representation, there are some Indigenous Australians who hold affections for teams other than Australia.^[35] Boland was a standout on the Aboriginal XI tour, some commentators noting he was unplayable at times.^[36] Over the 6 matches, Boland performed well, taking 5 wickets at an average of 28.40.^[37] Off the back of these performances Boland was presented with the Taverners Australia Indigenous Cricketer of the Year award, with his integral role in the Aboriginal XI tour being crucial to receiving this honour.^[23]

In December 2021, Boland was added to Australia's Test squad as bowling cover, ahead of the third match of the 2021–22 Ashes series.^[38] He was selected in the Australian XI for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Personal life[]

In 2017 Boland's family discovered that his grandfather, John Edward, was Aboriginal, from the Gulidjan tribe in the Colac area of Victoria.^[39][40] After discovering this, Boland sought to embrace his indigenous heritage, playing in indigenous representative teams, and seeking to further educate himself on indigenous traditions.

Boland has a brother, Nick, who also played professional cricket, for Victoria’s Future League side. The indigenous tour to England in 2018 was the first time the brothers played together at any level.^[41]

References[]