Why Scott Boland is the most dangerous bowler in the world
Scott Boland took 4 for 31 against South Africa and, at 37, is still not Australia's first-choice quick. With 82 wickets in 19 Tests at 18.58 he out-averages Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood. How a fourth-stump wobble seam makes him so hard to play.
Key points
- 82 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 18.58; since his debut Australia have played 50 Tests and Boland just 20.
- In July 2025 he had the best Test bowling average of anyone in 100 years.
- Greatest spells: 6 for 7 on debut at the MCG, five wickets in the WTC final, 10 in a Test at Sydney and a hat-trick at Sabina Park as West Indies were bowled out for 27.
- Virat Kohli averages 7.6 against him across five dismissals.
Chapters
- SA vs AUS: Scott Boland's 4/31
- 82 wickets at 18.58
- Biomechanics: Boland vs Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood
- The fourth-stump wobble seam
- Greatest spells
- Boland vs Virat Kohli
- Boland vs Joe Root
The full story
Boland doesn't look like Australia's other three quicks. He is the shortest and the least express. Starc has the left-arm angle and pace, Cummins the bounce, Hazlewood height and accuracy. Boland has one spot, ball after ball: fourth stump, good length, with a wobbling seam that even he doesn't know which way it will go.
Every time he has been called up, he has delivered. His one flat series was the 2023 Ashes; against India he took 21 wickets at 13. Against Joe Root he took four wickets in 74 balls before Root batted 257 balls without getting out, until Boland trapped him LBW at Sydney. With Lyon out and Hazlewood ill against South Africa, Boland led the attack and took 4 for 31, dismissing Markram, Bedingham, Ackermann and Rickelton. Underrated, or just unlucky to share an era with Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood?
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