Boland: 'I just want to make their decision as hard as possible'

Scott Boland says he is pain free for the first time in 18 months and is aiming to cause Australia's selectors headaches as he vies for a spot in the World Test Championship final next week, ahead of Josh Hazlewood.

Boland, 36, is fighting for a spot in the WTC final XI despite being Player of the Match in the last Test he played in Sydney against India in January. He was not selected in Sri Lanka when Australia fielded just one quick and three spinners in each of the two Tests and has not played any cricket since Victoria's second-last Sheffield Shield fixture of Australia's domestic season in early March after battling ongoing knee soreness.

Boland had a huge impact (21 wickets at an average of 13) in Border-Gavaskar series in the three Tests he played in place of the injured Hazlewood. He was also Australia's best quick in the 2023 WTC final when he was selected ahead of Hazlewood. But he knows he is no guarantee to play at Lord's against South Africa as Hazlewood is fully fit again having bowled superbly throughout the IPL (22 wickets at an average of 18) to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru claim a maiden title.

Boland said the three months off have been vital to help him get his knee right after playing through soreness over the previous year-and-a-half and he is hoping to make the selectors job as difficult as possible.

"I'm really happy with how my body's feeling at the moment," Boland said. "Pain free for probably the first time in about 18 months. So it's feeling really good.

"My goal for probably the last two months was just get myself and my body in the position where I can put my hand up and be ready to go if it goes my way. I probably felt like at the back end of the Shield season, my knee was sort of, not wearing away, but wasn't going how I wanted to go. And I didn't feel like I was bowling how I wanted. But now I feel like I'm in a really good spot that I can bowl how I want to bowl. It's pulling up really well, so that's all I can do, and I just want to make their decision as hard as possible."

The decision between Boland and Hazlewood is one of a few that Australia's selectors are mulling over, alongside whether to pick a specialist allrounder, where to bat Cameron Green on return from injury as a batter-only and who will open alongside Usman Khawaja given Travis Head will move back to No. 5 after opening in Australia's last two Tests in Sri Lanka.

The decision between Boland and Hazlewood sits independent of the batting order. However, Boland's chances would increase if the selectors elect not play an allrounder in Beau Webster given concerns over Hazlewood's durability after breaking down in each of his last two Tests.

"I felt like I had a couple of really strong games," Boland said. "But Josh is obviously a world-class bowler. He's one of the best bowlers in the world coming off a really good IPL. So I'm sure he'll be wanting the same thing here. Obviously, we all want to play but there's probably not room for all of us."

Boland being completely pain free will only increase his chances given how reliable and robust he has been in Tests for Australia despite his ongoing knee issues. He said he did not bowl or run for a period of six weeks after the domestic season finished and worked exclusively on strengthening his knee in the gym.

"I was able to get it to a spot where it's really strong, and then it's just gotten better and better since I've started running and bowling, which was seven weeks ago," he said.

The only concern for Boland is that he is not as match-hardened compared to Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. The latter three have all been playing in the IPL and although they have only been bowling four overs per game, bowling at high intensity in games regularly over a two-moth stretch has value for the experienced quicks.

Australia opted not play a long-form practice match leading into the WTC final and have instead chosen to do seven days of nets and centre-wicket practice in Beckenham, south of London, as they did before the 2023 WTC final. Boland said his lack of match practice is not a concern.

"I think we're really comfortable with the way that we do it now," Boland said. "I don't think we've played a practice game since I've been in the team. We haven't had a scheduled tour game. So I think you can get as much out of training if you have the right conditions. And I think the set-up we've got at Beckenham is perfect. There's a really nice centre-wicket, beautiful run ups, all that kind of stuff. So it's as close you can get to a game without playing a game.

"For me personally, I like that the best. You can just get what you need to get done. And then all the other guys have been playing IPL, the other three bowlers, so they're ready to go. They're match hardened. And I think the intensity of the IPL helps when you go from format to format. They've already been at 100%. The only step up for them is just bowling a few more overs which they're definitely used to."

One factor not in Boland's favour is that he has never played at Lord's. He was not selected for the Lord's Test during the 2023 Ashes series. Hazlewood has 13 wickets at 26.15 in three Tests at the ground including five crucial scalps across two innings to help Australia win the 2023 Lord's Test against England.