The best 'spare' bowler around

ASHES: BOLAND COULD BE THE AUSSIES' TRUMP CARD

- 

Australia may be without star quicks Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood when the Ashes begin against England on Friday, but they have the luxury of calling on perhaps the best “spare” fast bowler in the world - Scott Boland.

The ever-reliable Boland has played just 14 Tests, but only because the “big three” of Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have been at the top of their game for so long.

Whenever he has had the opportunity, he has grabbed it with both hands - something England know all too well.

In the space of four overs during the 2021-22 Ashes, he shifted from a stalwart of domestic cricket to international star with an incredible 6-7 on his Test debut at the MCG when filling in for the injured Hazlewood.