The making of fast bowler Boland: Cult hero of MCG

ON a hot Saturday afternoon at the AH Butler Oval, Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club was playing against Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club in the local game on the outskirts of Melbourne.

- GOMESH S

ON a hot Saturday afternoon at the AH Butler Oval, Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club was playing against Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club in the local game on the outskirts of Melbourne. On the field, things were not going well for FPCC. Even as the current coach Peter Marshall sat with the team in the dugout, keeping an eye on the action, watching along the boundary ropes was former coach David McLean and his wife. David hadn't been at the ground for a while and his wife wanted to see some of the renovated facilities at the venue. As one reaches the Oval after a 40-minute cab ride from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, saying one particular name can change the mood of any person present—Scott Boland. Instantly there was a wide smile and one could sense the happiness and the feeling of pride that comes along. After all, this is the ground where the pacer who made his debut at the MCG with a record figure of 6/7 against England three years ago—arrived as a teenager from Parkdale almost 20 years ago.

"He was a very likable guy even then," recalls David sitting in the viewing area of FPCC. "He struggled with his weight. But when we got Nick Jewell here as coach, he noticed Scotty. We used to push him pretty hard to get the best out of himself," he added.