Boland: 'I've got my own internal motivations'

Scott Boland could not hide the smirk on his face.

Not long after he had scythed through New South Wales to take a match-winning 5 for 67 to go with his 3 for 59 in the first innings to help Victoria claim a thrilling Sheffield Shield win at the Junction Oval, Boland was asked the obvious question in his post-match conversation with a group of reporters.

Boland was asked if he had seen former England captain Michael Atherton write in the Times that he "holds no fear" for England's batting line-up based on how they played him in England two years ago.

"I saw it. My cousin sent it to me. He [Boland's cousin] was taking the piss," Boland said. "I'm sure there's going be so much banter between the former players in between now and the first Test and even the end of the summer."

He was asked if it motivated him at all ahead of the Ashes.

"Not really," Boland said. "I've got my own internal motivations for what I want to do for the summer. I've never gone into a game where I'm just middling along. I guess there's always some motivation for me to try and either come into the team and try to put in a really good performance, to try and keep my spot. There's so many good fast bowlers in Australia that you just don't want to give anyone an inch. So that's sort of my goal when I'm playing Test cricket."

Boland, 36, always speaks like a man on the outside looking in. But right now, he is actually an incumbent in Australia's Test XI having played in their last Test match in Jamaica in place of Nathan Lyon as part of a four-man pace attack. In fact, he took a Test hat-trick in the last Test over he bowled.

And it's looking increasingly likely that he will retain his spot even though Lyon is set to return for the first Test against England in Perth, with skipper Pat Cummins saying it's "less likely than likely" he will be fit to play as he continues a slow recovery from a back injury.

Boland said he had not spoken to Cummins in several months. But he was not expecting the skipper to miss all five Tests.

"Patty's so resilient," Boland said. "He can play through a little bit of pain if he has some. Those guys play so much cricket there's bound to be games where someone misses out. But if Pat happens to not play the first game, we've got a pretty handy incoming in at some stage during the summer."

Boland is primed if he is called upon for the first Test. Like a prized race horse ahead of the Melbourne Cup, he seems to have timed his preparation down to the minute. He is pain free and without strapping on his knees for the first time in several years after a block of strength work in the gym following the Caribbean tour. His former Victoria team-mate and now Australia coach Andrew McDonald had challenged him to rethink the way he trained to become even more resilient as he ages.

He bowled impressively in the opening Shield game of the summer against South Australia at Adelaide Oval last week and then backed it up with eight wickets at the Junction Oval. But he was frustrated with his performance this week having been far more expensive than usual. He conceded a tick over 4.1 runs per over across 30.4 overs in the match as the New South Wales batters looked to attack him, with Sam Konstas reverse ramping him for six in the second innings.

With 0 for 54 to his name from 9.5 overs in the second innings, Atherton's words felt prescient. But Boland found another gear, snaking a stunning delivery back through the gate to bowl the dangerous Oliver Davies for 64. He took 5 for 13 from his final 35 deliveries, including clattering the stumps twice more, to win the game for his state.

"I knew the game was on the line," Boland said. "I didn't feel like I'd... not that I'd let the team down, but I hadn't bowled as well as I wanted to for the whole week.

"I just think it's just a minor thing in my run up. I'm probably just stressing a little bit too much from what I usually do. But I know sometimes that just happens. I just want to find my rhythm as quick as I can in the game. And sometimes it happens in half a spell. Sometimes it takes a bit longer. This game just took a little bit longer, but I still felt like I was able to hang in there enough to bowl some spells when I'm getting wickets for the team."

He also showed a rare sign of raw emotion. After knocking over Davies, he charged past him and glared at him with a guttural roar. It was out of character for a man who barely celebrated a Test hat-trick and it caught the eye of veteran New South Wales coach Greg Shipperd.

"Yeah, interesting, wasn't it," Shipperd said. "I don't know what might have led up to that, but it's not the Scotty Boland I know."

Victoria coach Chris Rogers said Boland and Davies had some history and that Davies "likes to give as much as he gets" but Boland played a straight bat.

"I was just excited to get a wicket," Boland said. "I hadn't got one for a while. But I know we've had some good contests. I played an Aussie A game with him last year. Really enjoyed his company. So nice fellow. We had some nice words for each other after the game."

Boland is set to rest from Victoria's next Shield game against Tasmania but will return for round four against New South Wales at the SCG in a game that is likely to feature Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Lyon.

"I've got two really good games of work into my body now," Boland said. "My body's feeling really good. No issues with any my knees or anything like that that have been little niggles in the past. So I'm really happy with how it's tracking. It'd be nice to have a few days off now and get some strength back in, because I know that when I'm doing that, my body's feeling great, and I feel like I can get through as many games as needed for the summer."