Scott Boland looks and sounds as fresh as a 36-year-old fast bowler reasonably can. The Victorian seamer – who delivered in all five Ashes Tests last winter – has taken 26 Shield wickets at 14.62 this campaign and leads an attack aiming to dethrone South Australia in Thursday’s Sheffield Shield final at Junction Oval.
“My body’s in a really good spot,” Victoria’s all-time leading wicket-taker said, a couple of days out from his 100th appearance in the competition. “This will be my 11th red-ball game this summer, so it’s a bigger workload than I’ve had the last few years.”
He credits carefully timed breathers for the longevity. “With the benefit of having little breaks in between series or games, I can really invest back into my body to make sure I’m strong and keeping my little niggles at bay.”
Boland is talking from experience now. “When I was younger I didn’t have the belief that I could just rock up and put the ball in the right spot – I just wanted to keep bowling,” he admitted. “But I think as I’ve got older and learnt what I need to do to make sure I’m bowling really well, I think I have a lot more belief now. I’d rather go into a game a touch underdone, knowing that I’ll pick it up in the game, as opposed to coming into a game a bit fatigued and sore from bowling too much in the nets.”
The hosts are likely to field five quicks, although someone must make way for the returning Fergus O’Neill. That puts pressure on Mitch Perry (32 wickets) and Sam Elliott (33), the two most prolific Vic seamers this term. Boland offered some sympathy: “Sam is probably the most inexperienced out of those guys, but whenever we’ve needed a wicket he’s bowled some really good spells. I don’t envy the job of Buck [coach Chris Rogers] and the others this week picking the team.”
Victoria are missing batting all-rounder Matt Short, who is in the IPL, while South Australia are without Travis Head for the same reason. “I think the landscape has changed a lot over the last five years,” Boland said. “We’d obviously love to have Shorty but are glad Trav is not here. You win one, you lose one. That’s just the way world cricket is going.”
The forecast suggests rain on the first two days, though the final has an extra day up its sleeve. Boland shrugged: “There’s enough time in the game that it will play out how it needs to play out. Hopefully that [forecast] changes and we get as much play as we can over the first few days.”
Analysis
Boland’s numbers underline how well the management plan has worked. His strike-rate (a wicket every 30 balls) is the best of any regular Shield seamer this season. Shorter spells, mixed with rest blocks, have preserved pace and control – the traits that made him so difficult to score off in England.
Selection remains Victoria’s conundrum. O’Neill offers reliable line-and-length support, but leaving out either Elliott or Perry – the two leading wicket-takers – carries risk. Having five days rather than four could temper that risk; a fresher, deeper attack is rarely a bad idea when overs build up.
For all the logistical talk, Boland’s belief perhaps matters most. A veteran who now trusts his own rhythms is usually dangerous, especially on a Junction Oval surface that often rewards patient seam bowling. If the forecast clears and the ball does a bit, Victoria know exactly whom they will turn to.
