Adelaide, December 5
Ahead of the Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, Australia captain Pat Cummins lauded Scott Boland for being "super consistent".
Earlier on Thursday, Australia named the playing eleven for the Adelaide Test and added pacer Scott Boland to the side who will replace injured Josh Hazlewood at the Adelaide Oval.
The Adelaide Test will be Boland's first match for Australia in the last 18 months. Skipper Cummins also confirmed that Mitchell Marsh will be fit to bowl in the Adelaide Test.
Boland's previous Test was against England in the prestigious Ashes 2023 series. The 35-year-old will be replacing Hazlewood who suffered an injury during the Perth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Cummins mentioned Boland's performance in Canberra when he played for the Prime Minister's XI against India in a two-day warm-up match. The skipper added that Boland's preparations have been "really good".
"He had a couple of good little hits out in Canberra a couple of days ago, his preparations have been really good. He is happy with how it's coming out and his rhythm. But you know as a captain it's pretty awesome for someone like Scotty to come straight in. You know he can bowl huge amounts of overs if you need, super consistent and performed at this level. So he looks ready to go," Cummins said.
In the recently concluded two-day warm-up match against India, Boland failed to get wickets under his belt but he gave away just 36 runs in his 10-over spell.
In the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India staged a stunning comeback from a series whitewash against New Zealand at home, defeating Australia by 295 runs in Perth despite being bowled out for a mere 150 runs in their first innings.
The day-night Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be starting from December 6.
Australia Playing XI for the Second Test: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.