Can India solve the Boland-shaped jigsaw at MCG? – Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles

How does Scott Boland go about his business of troubling a truckload of batters in the Sheffield Shield? What is the reason behind his noteworthy record at the MCG, in the longest format of the game? The answer to this vexing question can be found out if you pore through some old videos of Boland bowling in the Sheffield Shield. The Adelaide Oval game between Victoria and South Australia from the 2020-21 season serves as an example. Boland ended up with eight wickets in that match, including six in the second innings.

The second of his six wickets in the second essay tells a story in itself. From slightly wide of the crease, Boland pitched the ball just outside off and it nipped back off the seam considerably. Due to Boland’s near-perfect length for those climes in Australia, Brad Davis was caught on the crease. Not surprisingly, Davis could only edge one to the ‘keeper. Just zoom in on the dismissal further, and the bat was dangling just outside off. A clue that Boland had bowled the right line and length to force the batter into making a mistake.

The wicket of Henry Hunt was not much different, although that delivery might have straightened a little bit on the angle. He followed it up by bowling a peach to remove Harry Nielsen, the left-hand batter. From round the wicket and wide of the crease, he angled one into Nielsen. Nielsen played for the angle, only for the ball to nip away from him and rattle the off-stump.

Boland’s impressive showing at the MCG has been based on the same game plan, including his famous spell of 6 for 7 against England on his Test debut. The best ball of that game-breaking spell was reserved for England’s mainstay, Joe Root. It swung and then nipped away just enough to take the outside edge. Root couldn’t pick the variation as he played down the wrong line. That offering gives you the essence of Boland’s well-rounded quiver for those conditions. 

With a front-on action, Boland is set to bowl loads of nip-backers and three-quarter-seam deliveries to the right-hand batters. But he also has the ability to tilt his wrist a tad and move it away from them. With certain actions, it seems easier to pick the variation. Not so with Boland, as there is no real discernible change in his action to pick cues. To make matters worse for the right-hand batter, the tilt of the wrist is negligible and his control is exemplary. 

Even though the away-going delivery isn’t his main weapon, it acts as the supplement to the nip-backers, sowing the seeds of doubt in the mind of the right-hand batters. In that context, what could India’s strategy be against Boland in the upcoming MCG Test? One of them could be to try and negate his threat with a left-right combination. Out of his 40 Test wickets, only six have been left-hand batters. If the left-hand batter takes some calculated risks, it could help in disrupting Boland’s lengths. 

Boland, who represents Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, has a wealth of experience at the grand theatre of the MCG. He has plucked as many as 117 scalps at an average of 24 there in first-class cricket. Away from home, he may not be that effective. But with the decks in Australia offering a little more zip and bounce, his method is tailor-made for such conditions. With most of the Indian batters struggling for form, they have a formidable task awaiting them at Boland’s happy hunting ground.