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The Australian team management, head coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins had a massive selection headache ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final against South Africa. First, it was the opening position. Then, the one fast-bowling spot which had two contenders. With Josh Hazlewood regaining fitness, Scott Boland was left out of the playing XI once again. Cummins, in the pre-match press conference, said that Boland has done nothing wrong. He wants Boland to stay consistent and be ready for opportunities in the next couple of years.
"There are some guys where you genuinely say, 'You've done nothing wrong, don't change a thing'. Scotty is just really unfortunate to miss out. Joshy Hazlewood comes back in. We know how good he is," Cummins said on the eve of the WTC final at Lord's, London.
"The message to Scotty is there's a lot of Test cricket coming up in the next couple of years, and just because you're mid-30s, it doesn't mean (that because) you're missing this Test, it's one Test off your career. By having a squad of fast bowlers, hopefully we can extend all our careers for an extra couple of years.
"It's really unfortunate Scotty misses this but the message to him is, 'Don't feel like you're running out of time'. We've still got lots of time, hopefully, in his career."
Hazlewood's Test career in numbers
In the WTC 2023 final, Hazlewood missed out due to an injury. Boland got the chance against India and he took five wickets, including Virat Kohli in the second innings. As Hazlewood struggled with injury during Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Boland played three Tests. He took a total of 21 wickets, including 10 in the fifth and last Test of the series at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Despite being a consistent performer, Boland has played just 13 Tests and claimed 56 wickets at an average of 17.66. He delivered his best on Test debut in 2021 during the home Ashes. He took six wickets for just seven runs against Joe Root-led England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Australia's playing XI for WTC 2025 final -
Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
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