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
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS