Leading Sheffield Shield wicket-taker Scott Boland is squarely on the radar of national selectors, with the Victorian quick set to feature in a strong Cricket Australia XI side to take on Sri Lanka next week.
CA are set to on Wednesday unveil their squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, with the squad for the preceding tour match also to be announced.
Scott Boland is on the selectors’ radar.Credit:AAP
The absence of Shield cricket between early December and late February – a result of the expanded Big Bash League – has been a talking point during and in the wake of Australia’s historic home series defeat to India.
Concerns that prospective Test players aren’t getting enough first-class cricket are set to be partly allayed when CA unveil their squad for the three-day game against the tourists, which begins in Hobart next Thursday.
In recent times the CA XI has been made up of players on the fringe of Shield XIs, perhaps most notably now-Test captain Tim Paine, who helped play himself back into a baggy green with a solid showing in a tour match against England before last summer’s Ashes.
However the CA XI for this Sri Lanka match is expected to be more akin to an Australia A team, with selectors keen to get a closer look at those in the mix for call-ups later in the year.
The Age understands that Boland, who has taken 36 wickets at 17.41 to comfortably top the Shield wicket tally this season, will be named in the squad to face the Sri Lankans.
That will make the Melbourne Stars paceman unavailable for Saturday week’s derby against the Melbourne Renegades at Marvel Stadium.
Boland, 29, who has played for Australia in both one-day and Twenty20 cricket, was on the cusp of a Test debut three summers ago after being called up to the Australian squad during a series against the West Indies.
The late-blooming quick is closing in on 200 first-class wickets and is in the chasing pack of fast bowlers along with state teammate Chris Tremain, South Australia's Daniel Worrall and West Australian young gun Jhye Richardson widely viewed as being in the next group of pacemen behind lead trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and veteran Peter Siddle.
Australia's bowling performance in the India Test series was criticised in some circles, with Starc's place in the XI being called into question.
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