Test debutant Scott Boland etched his name in the record books yesterday, becoming an instant cult hero in Australian cricket with an astonishing six-wicket haul that wrapped up the Ashes on day three of the third Test in Melbourne.
Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, the 32-year-old Victoria paceman finished with outrageous innings figures of 6-7 in four overs, sending his home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into delirium as England’s batsmen capitulated for 68 before lunch.
It was England’s lowest total in Australia for 117 years.
Photo: AFP
England had resumed on 31 for four, their faint hopes pinned on captain Joe Root and Ben Stokes building a partnership after another calamitous batting collapse late on day two.
Yet it all went up in smoke as paceman Mitchell Starc bowled Stokes for 11 before Boland started an incredible spell of fast bowling.
Boland had dismissed opener Haseeb Hameed (7) and nightwatchman Jack Leach in his first over late on day two, and returned yesterday to trap Jonny Bairstow LBW for five in his second over.
His third over produced the prized wicket of Root (28), with his fourth accounting for tailenders Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson, each going for ducks.
All-rounder Cameron Green capped England’s humiliation by having James Anderson bowled for two before the stroke of midday.
Australia sealed the series 3-0 ahead of the remaining two Tests in Sydney and Hobart.
Along the way, Boland matched the 19-ball record for the fastest five-wicket haul in Tests shared by England’s Stuart Broad at the 2015 Ashes and Australia’s Ernie Toshack in 1947.
Finishing with a seven-wicket match haul in a thumping innings and 14-run win, Boland could not have asked for a better debut, and won the Johnny Mullagh medal as player of the match.
“I’ve never had a crowd behind me like that,” said Boland, who slotted into the side after injuries to pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson.
“I tried to soak it up when I was down at fine leg. I really enjoyed it. It felt like they were pushing me on when I was running in to bowl,” he said. “I was just hoping I was going to be good enough.”
“Just an awesome few weeks, so proud of the group here and just everything’s clicked,” said Australia captain Pat Cummins.
“So happy for Scottie in front of his home crowd today, just an amazing feeling,” he said.
England have only pride to play for, but appear to have little left in reserve, with their top order a massive problem.
Their batsmen were skittled for 185 in the first innings and have yet to reach a total of 300 in the series.
“Credit to Australia, they blew us away last night and they’ve outplayed us in this test match and in this series so far,” Root said. “We’ve got a lot of hard work to do to make sure we come back strong in the last two games.”
Meanwhile, former England cricketers and fans have begun a long and painful postmortem into how the team slumped to defeat.
“I’m a little embarrassed,” England legend Ian Botham told the Seven Network in Australia.
“To lose the Ashes in 12 days, I don’t know if that’s the fastest, but it’s got to be very close to it,” he said.
However, England supporter Tom Paternoster-Howe was searching for a silver lining.
“The only good thing about how pathetic and embarrassing this shower that passes for an international test team are, is that at least their incompetence will annoy 140,000 Australians who had tickets for the last 2 days,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Guardian’s over-by-over blog.
Additional reporting by the Guardian
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
RSS