Australia skipper Pat Cummins has announced an unchanged XI for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan starting Tuesday (December 26) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Cummins' announcement means that local boy Scott Boland won't get an opportunity to have a crack at the tourists in front of his home crowd.
Boland has fond memories of the MCG. The 34-year-old pacer made the England batters sweat profusely as he grabbed 6/7 in the second innings of his debut Test at the MCG during the 2021/22 Ashes on home turf. But since then he has largely been warming the bench and watching the pace troika of Mitchell Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood make light work of various oppositions.
Cummins said that they (the Australian team) are a huge fan of Scotty (Boland) but unfortunately, there is no place for him in the XI for the second Test of the Australian summer. However, the Aussie skipper wants him to be ready for future assignments as the opportunity to feature in the XI can present itself at any moment.
"We're a huge fan of Scotty, I don't think that's a secret," Cummins was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.au.
"It's very rare that you're going to get through seven Test matches with the same (fast) bowling line-up, there's always niggles or things that pop up.
"He's ready to go if anything happens, so I'm sure he'll play a part at some point.
"The message (to Boland) is always 'we love what you're brining, unfortunately you miss out on this one but don't change ... and stay ready'."
Pakistan drop Sarfaraz Ahmed for Boxing Day Test
Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed won't feature in the playing XI for Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test at "The G". Though the tourists haven't announced their XI, they have named a list of 12 players for the second Test and the list reveals that Mohammad Rizwan has replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed and is likely to don the wicketkeeping gloves. Skipper Shan Masood will announce the XI at the toss.
Australia's Playing XI for the Boxing Day Test:
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan's XII for the Boxing Day Test:
Imam-Ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal, Sajid Khan
