‘Saste Hazelwood ki selection pakki’ – Fans react to Pat Cummins confirming Scott Boland’s selection in WTC final playing XI

As Australia almost certainly confirmed the lineup that they will use for their World Test Championship final encounter against India at The Oval this week, Scott Boland has been given the go-ahead to play his first Test in England. Scott Boland beat Michael Neser for a place in the final bowling position in Australia’s XI, according to captain Pat Cummins, whose bowling average of 13.42 stands as the lowest of any Test bowler to have delivered at least 1000 balls since the century’s beginning.

It appears that Australia’s side will stick to its usual lineup of five batters ahead of all-rounder Cameron Green, the wicketkeeper Alex Carey, three quicks, and a spinner for the one-off match in south London, as indicated by Cummins’ subsequent statement that there were going to be  “no surprises” in the XI chosen by him and the team management.

When Josh Hazlewood was ruled out due to a recurring injury, Neser was added to the Australians’ official 15-player team for the World Test Championship final commencing Wednesday. However, Boland will join Cummins, Green, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon in Australia’s anticipated bowling attack thanks to his exceptional record established across seven Tests since his amazing debut during the most recent Ashes series in 2021–22.

That’s the luxury of having bench strength: Pat Cummins

Cummins acknowledges that the Victorian fast bowler is “very close” to having his name ranked on par with the “big three” fast bowling players in the selection organisational structure, but he denied the notion that there is a “pecking order.”  Cummins said, “So I don’t think there’s ever a pecking order. You think about the three guys that you want to go out and play.”

Pat Cummins spoke to Cricket Australia about having a great group of fast bowlers in and around the team. He said, “That’s the luxury of having bench strength. “‘Hoff’ (Hazlewood) was really close to being available for this one so he’ll be available for the first (Ashes) Test. Ness’ (Neser), you see how well he’s been doing in county cricket, Sean Abbott’s here, so I’m sure we’ll be calling on a lot of resources. You don’t want to finish off a Test match with something (left) in the tank knowing that you’ve got other guys fresh that you could bring in a few days later.”

Fans react to Pat Cummins confirming Scott Boland’s selection in WTC final playing XI: –