Aus A v Ind A: Scott Boland looks for chance to keep pressure on KL Rahul


Final auditions for the vacant batting spot in Australia’s Test team will again dominate discussion in the second four-day A team fixture at the MCG, but fast bowler Scott Boland is eyeing the opportunity to keep the pressure on KL, member of the Indian test team. Rahul after flying out early to perform for India A.
Rahul, who played the first Test against New Zealand before being left out when Shubman Gill was fit, and reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel left India ahead of the rest of the Test group to feature against Australia A and get some practice in. game.
Rahul, who averages just 20.77 in Australia in five Tests despite a century at the SCG in 2015, could enter the fray for the first Test in Perth if Rohit Sharma misses the game due to personal reasons and Boland sees an opportunity. to leave a mark.

“I was lucky to play against him in a Test in India a couple of years ago, but it will be nice to play against him in our backyard,” he said. “He’s a world-class player, but I think we can get on top of him pretty early and hopefully stay on top of him for most of the summer.”

Like several Australian players, Boland highlighted India’s 3-0 loss to New Zealand, but cautioned how much needs to be read into it. The quick visitors did their damage in the first Test before the spinners took control in Pune and Mumbai to secure a famous whitewash.

“There’s a lot more bounce here, more seam,” Boland said. “The way they will structure their team will be completely different from what you see in India.”

Most of India’s Test team will not have a full game in Australia ahead of the first Test after the scheduled intra-team game with India A was converted to a match simulation in order to provide more flexibility in the preparation.

“I think sometimes when you play that practice match, we traveled with a team of 19 players and we were only allotted three days,” Rohit said. “And I don’t know how much workload we can do in those three days in terms of preparing everyone.

“So we, as management as well, feel that instead of having that, the match simulation where the batsmen can spend more time in the middle, batting in the middle, and then the bowlers can also bowl a lot of balls, “So that’s something we, as a team, feel more comfortable doing instead of playing a scrimmage because playing time isn’t an issue. “We’ve all been playing a lot of cricket, so it’s just about spending time in between.”

Boland is expected to be the quick reserve in the Test squad and is prepared to feature at some point with the belief that the big three who spent the entire summer at home last season were an “outlier” and reinforcements will likely be needed. .

Boland averages 12.21 in home Tests and previously admitted he was hoping for a chance last season that would only be denied by the durability of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, helped by none of the matches lasting five days.

He has been recovering from an injury earlier this season after a county deal with Durham was canceled due to a heel problem and bowled out 28 overs in the Sheffield Shield against New South Wales last month. Boland said he was under “a bit of a restriction” in terms of his overs in that match, but did not expect to be stopped for Australia A.

“It seemed like six long months between games,” he said. “I remember being on the field in the Shield game and I was very happy to be playing cricket again. “I haven’t had many injury breaks throughout my career so it was different going through all the rehabilitation.

“Fortunately [we’ve] I have very good physiotherapists and support staff at cricket Victoria. I was very lucky to be able to lean on them, because I rarely thought: ‘[are] Are any of these things getting better? But now everything has gone well and I feel very good.”



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