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Is Boland vulnerable to England’s Bazball approach?
Nicholas Quinlan • October 11th, 2025 7:16 pm
He was the diamond in the rough for Australia in the last Ashes series on home soil, but could this Ashes series see Scott Boland become a vulnerability in the bowling line-up if called upon?
In his first Ashes series, the Victorian bowler was impressive to say the least, with a man-of-the-match performance in his debut test against England on Boxing Day.
This was then followed by strong performances in the next two tests, with the Aussies claiming a 4-0 series win to retain the urn.
But when facing England and their newfound Bazball approach away from home in the 2023 series, Boland conceded plenty of runs for very little in return.
In the two Test matches he played against them, Boland only took two wickets across four innings, seeing him finish that campaign with a series bowling average in the hundreds.
And according to veteran journalist Robert Craddock, it seems that if Boland plays in the First Test while Pat Cummins remains out with a back stress injury, England could inflict a similar result on the Victorian seamer.
“He’s vulnerable to Bazball because he puts the ball on the same spot,” Craddock said on SENQ Breakfast.
“And they’ll say, ‘Right, we’re coming at you and we’re coming at you hard’, and they got him in England in that series (in 2023).
“Of course, he famously dismantled England in an iconic test debut on Boxing Day, but here is my query with Boland.
“When he comes in, it’s normally for a one-off Test and at age 36, you can do that.
"But he might start the series in Perth, and he’s got a knee that’s not 100% either.
“So that’s a different narrative than just coming in late in the series and having a real good couple of spells.
"This Ashes series is all about durability. As I said, his knee has come and gone over the last couple of years.
"He's 36 years old, can he play five tests? It is a big ask."
The first Test between Australia and England kicks off on November 21 in Perth. You can hear all of the action LIVE on SEN Cricket across the SEN network and SEN app.
