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Ahead of the fourth Test against India at Melbourne, which will be a Boxing Day Test match, Australian head coach Andrew McDonald hinted at the inclusion of pacer Scott Boland in the playing eleven, saying that he does not think that the team is going to the field for a Boxing Day without him, ESPNCricinfo reported.
With the series level at 1-1 and the frontline pacer Josh Hazlewood out due to injury for Australia, Boland's sharp line and length, on-point deliveries will become even more important in determining Australia's ICC World Test Championship final chances. He has played 11 Tests, picking 40 wickets at an average of 20.42, with best figures of 6/7, which came during his debut Test match at MCG back in 2021 against England. In his another Boxing Day Test appearance against South Africa back in 2022, he took three wickets in two innings. Boland is absolutely lethal in Australia, having taken 33 scalps in seven games at an average of 13.54. He featured in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide during this series, taking five scalps across both innings, including wickets of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Speaking ahead of the game in the pre-match presser, McDonald said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, "If we did not pick Scotty here, and I am not allowed to declare the team, because that's Pat's (Cummin) job tomorrow, but I do not think I am coming to the ground Boxing Day if Scotty is not the XI. So you can go with that as well." It is highly unlikely that all-rounder Beau Webster will get his first cap for Australia as Mitchell Marsh is still pretty much in and so is wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, which also rules out the selection of Josh Inglis. Also, Perth Scorchers and Western Australia pacer Jhye Richardson has been training with the Test squad both days having not been released to play in the Big Bash League (BBL). The coach is happy to have him in the squad and could play his first Test since 2021 of his three-match career in Sydney during the fifth Test. But it depends on if the MCG Test goes for five days and the workload of Cummins and Mitchell Starc is heavy. Though Donald feels that the pitches have been good so far and the workload of both big pacers has been much lighter due to help from pitch and rain spells, according to ESPNCricinfo. "Jhye has been impressive. Clearly had a setback in the Shield game with the shoulder. Every week that goes on, people are confident that it lessens the risk. And what we saw in the nets today is a highly skilled player, and he is getting somewhere near his best, which is exciting for us," he said. "Carrying the two extra quicks in the squad with the short turnaround, I think that is real. If this game becomes long into a short turnaround, then you have got to make some decisions. Our frontline quicks, in terms of Starkey and Paddy, are well placed. Probably, less load than we would have imagined after three Test matches so does that give them the opportunity to back up from Test four to Test five? I would say that is highly likely," he concluded. Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster. (ANI)
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