Fast bowler Scott Boland has identified Joe Root as the England player Australia need to keep quiet in the Ashes series.
Australia have a history of targeting a particular England player – legendary fast bowler Glenn McGrath made it a pre-series ritual to single out England batters, while captain Michael Clarke asked his pacemen to nullify Alastair Cook when Australia won 5-0 in 2013-14.
Root has attracted attention from local media in the run-up to the first Test on Friday given his record of never scoring a Test hundred in this country.
“You always want to take down the best players,” said Boland. “In the past when Joe Root has been captain you want to try to make sure they have as little impact as you can.
“England have quite a few good batters we’ll be looking to do that to.”
Boland, who dismissed Root four times during the last Ashes tour in this country, added: “Hopefully we can keep Joe Root and the guys in the middle-order pretty quiet.”
Boland made a huge impact in that Ashes, his first series for Australia. The 36-year-old took an astonishing 6-7 on debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), part of an overall 18 wickets in the series at an average of 9.55.
Since then he has amassed 62 wickets in 14 Tests at a cost of only 16.53 – just two bowlers in Test history have as many wickets at a better average, and both George Lohmann and Sydney Barnes played more than 100 years ago.
Boland’s only struggle came in the 2023 Ashes in the UK, when a vastly different England team from the one he encountered on home soil attacked his bowling. His two wickets came at an average of 115.50.
“I learned a lot,” he said. “I’ve reflected on that tour a fair bit. There will be tweaks to my gameplan for what I want to do, but I don’t think I need to change too much. I just need to execute a bit better.
Asked if he has anything to prove in this series, Boland replied: “Only to myself.”
Boland looked likely to be a reserve to the first-choice Australia pace attack in this series, but will now be in the Australia XI for the opening Test following injuries to captain Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood.
Boland and Mitchell Starc will probably be joined by uncapped 31-year-old Brendan Doggett as the specialist seamers.
“Obviously you don’t want to be missing two great players like Josh and Pat,” said Boland.
“Our bowling stocks have been really strong for quite a while – no one has been able to break in.
“It’s going to be an exciting time. A new guy or two will get a look in. They’re not inexperienced guys. Brendan is 31 years old, he’s played a lot of first-class cricket and he knows his game. He knows what he’s going to need to do to express his skills out on the big stage.”
Cummins appeared to be bowling at full pace in the nets on Monday as he builds towards a return for the second Test in Brisbane.
England’s method of attacking batting is going to be tested on what is expected to be a lively surface at Perth Stadium.
The tourists’ stroke-makers will also have to adapt to vast playing areas at Australian grounds, much larger than the Test venues in the UK.
“I’m sure it will help us,” said Boland, speaking at Perth Stadium. “Balls that would go over the fence in England have a longer way to go at grounds like here, the MCG and the Gabba in Brisbane.
“It’s the same for them. Their bowlers when they bowl their short balls, you have to hit it 85 metres instead of 65, so it’s a big difference.”
