How Scott Boland became a cult hero in the space of four overs

“It’s a reflection of how famous he can become in a matter of minutes.”

MCG expert

Boland did not start the 2021-22 Ashes series with any kind of reputation. Far from becoming a national hero, his name was not even mentioned in the starting 15-man squad.

But by the time the tour reached Melbourne for the Boxing Day test after victories in Brisbane and Adelaide, Josh Hazlewood, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser had all been ruled out of the upset.

Boland’s name suddenly appeared in the frame and word began to spread that the 32-year-old Victorian was pushing for selection as he was an MCG pundit.

The numbers didn’t lie; In his previous six first-class matches at the venue, he had taken 42 wickets at 14.35, hitting every 35 balls for his state.

“It was like they were lining him up for this particular match,” Rogers recalled.

“But I think I have made it public that I would choose Scott Boland over any bowler in domestic cricket.

“I think Scotty’s problem, probably more than anyone else, is that his floor is almost his ceiling. It’s like it’s the same every time.

“As a coach and as a teammate, you know exactly how he’s going to perform, at least how the ball is going to come out of his hands. So I think that gives a lot of people confidence when it comes to selection.”

Boland, who is uncapped, was told he had been selected on Christmas Eve and became the second Indigenous man after Jason Gillespie to play Test cricket for Australia.

“It’s a luxury to have someone like him ready to go,” Cummins told reporters at the time.

But Boland was anything but ready to go. Shortly after being presented with the green by the injured Hazlewood, Boland admitted his nerves were playing out in the first innings.

hint of things to come

Assistant coach Andrew McDonald managed to bench the debutant during the opening day’s lunch break after Australia won the toss and elected to bowl.

He told Boland he was playing it too safe. He had to let his action take its course.

It was sound advice, but the first sign that the Victorian team was about to unleash hell did not emerge until the final session of the second day.

By then England had begun their second innings and had trailed Australia by 82 runs.

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Despite the desperate insistence of the Barmy Army, the tourists had no chance. They were immediately sent on the back foot as they picked up consecutive wickets from Mitchell Starc, Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan. Then the magic started.

Boland was brought into the attack for the second last over of the day and, heeding McDonald’s words, took two wickets with his first five balls – opener Haseeb Hameed got behind Alex Carey and then night-keeper Jack Leach shouldered a ball that darted towards his off-stump.

It was an appetizing appetizer for what was to come.

‘What’s going on?’

It was a quirk in the lineup that Fox commentator Mark Howard found himself calling back-to-back sessions.

He still feels privileged to have provided the soundtrack to Boland’s match-winning strike.

The Victorian pacer took a wicket with the fifth ball of the third morning, trapping Jonny Bairstow lbw for five. They had figures of 3-5 from 1.5 overs and England were on their knees at 6-60, still 22 runs behind.

Then came Joe Root’s prized scalp. Boland persuaded the England captain to drive with an ascending delivery and was caught by David Warner at loss on 28. Boland had taken 4-5 from 2.4 overs. England were 7-61.

“The crowd wasn’t that big, but, God, the crowd was loud,” Howard recalled.

“I haven’t covered many Test matches where you fully expect there will be a wicket in every ball. “It seemed like there was a wicket in every two or three balls.

“And again it’s not like he’s shaking his fist; he just takes the wicket and smiles.”

Even coach Justin Langer resigned himself to the moment. Now a Channel 7 cricket pundit, he said he took the unusual step of sitting at ground level on the final morning of the Boxing Day Test, giving up the bird’s eye view from the team box to be closer to the action.

He was glad he did. He said the crowd’s reaction to his hometown hero was so infectious it made winning the Ashes even more special.

Almost as fascinating as Boland’s magic was the subdued way in which he received the sudden adulation of narrow-minded Victorian admirers.

As he returned to Bay 13 to take field position each time, the best he could offer the screaming crowd was a smile and a hesitant thumbs-up.

Boland would later admit: “It all happened so fast I didn’t know what to think, I was a little embarrassed.”

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But the rowdy crowd didn’t disrupt Boland’s metronome style and unnerving accuracy.

He snared his fifth wicket when Mark Wood took the chance to catch and throw straight on, and then put the morning on top by catching Ollie Robinson, caught by Marnus Labuschagne. Boland finished the match with a score of 6-7 from four overs, while England took 9-67.

“Every wicket was going back to Mr. 13 and to me it was like Merv Hughes coming back and the crowd turning bananas,” Howard recalled.

“I remember talking to the producers at the time, and we were like, ‘Let’s be quiet as we go in front of Scotty Bay 13,’ so we could hear the crowd.”

One of the fondest memories of commentary for Howard was the reaction of co-caller and retired great Mike Hussey.

The normally cool-headed Mr. Cricket was so caught up in the on-field spectacle that he abandoned his usual analytical approach and started giggling.

“What’s going on here, Howie?” He laughed after Boland’s last wicket.

“That for me was the defining moment of what Scotty did,” Howard said.

“Because if a guy as thoughtful and analytical as Mike Hussey was so invested in what Scotty was doing… it just showed me how much that moment lifted people to a whole new level of excitement.”

Do justice to the moment

Howard’s iconic “build a statue for the man” quote immediately resonated with fans.

He said it was born out of a moment of reflection on his way to the MCG.

“I was walking around the statues,” he explained, “and there’s a statue of Warnie and there’s a statue of (AFL legend) Leigh Matthews and I was thinking to myself, ‘is it possible that the current Australian team could potentially have a statue of him outside the MCG?’

“I had Steve Smith in my head, not the Victorian era but for me he’s the best player of our generation. So I guess it was there in the back of my subconscious.”

“But you don’t come to work and think, ‘Right, Scotty Boland’s going to get a six-for-seven and you’re going to write a line about a statue.’ You just want to do justice to the moment.”

The line has become synonymous with Boland.

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He later told Howard that no matter where he played, people would lean over the fence and shout “make a statue of the man.”

“I distinctly remember being in Ahmedabad, India, where the last World Cup final was held, walking around in a T-shirt, shorts and a hat, and a guy came up to me and was quoting word for word from the four gates, finishing with ‘build the man of the statue,'” Howard said.

“I’m delighted that people relate so positively to what Scotty does.”

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