In the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Australia has been asked to bowl first by England after making the decision to exclude Mitchell Starc from the playing XI. Captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Scott Boland and Josh Hazlewood would both be part of the lineup, leaving Starc as the unfortunate omission.

“It’s a tough call, especially on Mitchy,” said Cummins at the toss on Friday. “I thought he was very impressive last week in the World Test Championship final, but we have a squad mentality. It’s a good problem to have someone like Josh Hazlewood coming in.”

Cummins also mentioned that if he had won the toss, he would have chosen to bat.

England captain Ben Stokes’ decision to bat first is notable as it is the first time he has made such a call in a home Test match, with the team typically preferring to chase in the fourth innings. However, the Edgbaston pitch appears flat, and the weather is clear in Birmingham.

“It looks like a really good wicket, a good toss to win, but now we have to go out and put some runs on the board,” said Stokes.

Boland, who had not been previously selected in a full-strength Australian attack, has impressed with a remarkable start to his career, taking 33 wickets at an average of 14.57. Hazlewood, who has faced injuries in recent years, brings control and a fresh presence to the team.

Starc, despite his wicket-taking abilities, has been left out for the first time since the 2019 Ashes when fit. Australia is expected to rotate their pace bowlers throughout the English summer, with Cummins keen to lead in all five Tests.

England had already announced their lineup earlier in the week, featuring veterans Stuart Broad and James Anderson, while Mark Wood was overlooked.

Stokes expressed excitement for the much-anticipated series to finally commence, saying, “It’s an amazing feeling. After all the hype surrounding this series for the last six months, it’s obviously a very special moment for me and the rest of the guys.”

Australia Squad: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

England Squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.

Australia captain Pat Cummins has announced that fast bowler Scott Boland will be included in the playing XI for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India, set to begin at The Oval on Wednesday.

Following Josh Hazlewood’s withdrawal from the one-off match due to a side strain and Achilles issue, Australia added Michael Neser to their 15-man squad. However, Cummins revealed that Boland’s selection as the third pacer, alongside Cummins himself and Mitchell Starc, was not surprising given the unique qualities the Victorian brings to the team.

“We value having bowlers who offer different styles,” Cummins stated during a press conference on the eve of the match. “Scotty is a seam bowler who hits a good length, but he provides a slightly different dynamic compared to Joshy Hazlewood, and Starcy being a left-hander adds another dimension.”

According to Cummins, there is no strict pecking order among the bowlers. “You think about the three guys that you want to go out and play,” he added.

This will be Boland’s first Test appearance in England. Although he gained experience in English conditions during a tour with an Indigenous cricket team in 2018, Cummins expressed confidence that Boland wouldn’t need to make significant adjustments to his bowling approach in order to succeed.

“With the ball swinging and seaming more in England, some players tend to focus too much on taking wickets every ball,” Cummins explained. “But for someone like Scotty, it’s a simple game plan – hit your areas consistently and stay disciplined throughout the day. Hopefully, the ball will do the work for him.”

Australia’s formidable bowling attack will be completed by seam-bowling all-rounder Cameron Green and off-spinner Nathan Lyon. Cummins acknowledged the need to manage Green’s workload carefully, particularly as the all-rounder transitions formats after his recent stint in the Indian Premier League’s T20 format.

“Greeny is fit and available, but it’s not in our best interest to overburden him and make him bowl 40 overs in a game,” Cummins emphasized. “We have this conversation before every test match, and so far, he hasn’t been pushed to his limits.”

But before Boland even had a chance to check in with coach Andrew McDonald, he fronted the media to answer questions as to when he would find out whether he was playing or not. “Either after training tomorrow, or Christmas Day or maybe even the morning of the game, I’m not sure,” Boland said. “I’ve spent the last few days at home, it’s been nice. I just got back into the camp this morning. I haven’t heard a thing. I’m hoping that I get to play. I think we’ve got a couple of big training sessions over the next couple of days.”

Australia’s selectors are having headaches. McDonald, fellow selector Tony Dodemaide, and captain Pat Cummins sat on drinks coolers next to the MCG nets to discuss the dilemma briefly while the training session took place. Boland had a brief bowl off a short run as well as a bat while Hazlewood was not at training. But nothing can be read into his absence, given that Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne were also absent.

It is highly unlikely the selectors would leave the decision until match day. Boland was told he would debut on Christmas Eve last year and a decision will almost certainly be made after Australia’s compulsory session on Saturday where all of the bowlers will bowl.
At the start of the home summer against West Indies, there was no debate among the selectors. Cummins himself said such was the stability that they could have picked the XI 12 months prior, and the pecking order of the quicks was very clear cut. Hazlewood was preferred alongside Starc and Cummins with Boland carrying the drinks. But Hazlewood’s second side strain in 12 months, in his third Test in 24, has created a level of doubt.

Scott Boland stated, “At the start of the summer I was probably fourth in line and now sort of trying to push to hopefully get a spot on Boxing Day” Previously if he had declared himself fit, he and his 217 Test wickets would have waltzed back into the team without any questions asked. But Boland’s rise over the last 12 months has the selectors second-guessing themselves. They freely admit they made a mistake when they selected Boland for last year’s Boxing Day Test against England. He was picked on the basis that he was an MCG flat-deck specialist, readymade for the back-breaking work of 50 overs of bashing a length on a lifeless pitch, just as he has done for Victoria in 27 matches there over a decade.

But Boland took 6 for 7 on one of the grassiest and spiciest MCG Test tracks ever produced. And since then, on a mix of surfaces in Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, and Brisbane, he has taken 25 wickets and maintained a staggering Test average of 10.36, and an economy rate of 2.05. He has been a metronomic machine for Cummins to turn to at any time, fitting seamlessly into an attack that has won four of the five Tests he has played. In the only drawn Test of those five, in Sydney against England, his absence for part of day five through soreness was keenly felt to the point where Australia was unable to take the tenth wicket.

Boland has again been magnificent in his only two Test appearances this summer and now the man himself senses that he has potentially moved up in the pecking order.”At the start of the summer I was probably fourth in line and now sort of trying to push to hopefully get a spot on Boxing Day,” Boland said.

Boland is hoping for a similar pitch to what was served up at Christmas last year, although such a surface may play against his selection chances.McDonald had a long conversation with MCG curator Matt Page in the middle on Friday as he inspected the 22 yards. The page has already gone on record suggesting he probably wouldn’t leave as much grass on it as last year. But there was a healthy enough covering, without the same thickness, for the most recent Sheffield Shield match played there between Victoria and Tasmania, and the bowlers still held sway in an entertaining game.

“I think it’s been a really good contest between bat and ball,” Boland said of the new and improved MCG pitch over recent years. “Hopefully that continues. Page does a great job here with the wicket. I think through the World Cup it looked like some wickets had some really good pace in it.”

“And when it’s like that it’s a good contest between bat and ball. If you bat well you can score runs and if you’re putting the ball in a good area all the time you’re always in the game.”Another sporting MCG pitch could help Boland get his Test bowling average under 10, as his teammates constantly rib him when it climbs above double figures.

“Yeah, they do. It’s pretty funny,” Boland said. “They bring it up now and again. Especially while we’re out in the field.”
But for that, he would need to be selected. And for that, he will have to wait until Christmas to get the present he is after.