After grabbing two South Africa wickets in two balls during a soggy start to the second Test in Gqeberha, Scott Boland has proven why he was chosen ahead of Nathan Lyon. Rain eventually stopped play before tea on Sunday (Monday AEDT) after Australia won the toss and used four quicks, leaving the Proteas 2-20 after Boland’s double strike.
Boland bowled the opener for eleven after nipping a ball back off the seam to remove Aiden Markram’s middle stump and catch his edge. The subsequent ball was pitched in nearly the same location, but it missed the wobble seam and took David Bedingham’s edge as it passed.
The Proteas captain had edged the ball onto his pad, but Boland momentarily believed he had Temba Bavuma lbw for his second career hat-trick. For the first time in 13 years, Lyon was left out of a red-ball Test when fit, and Australia is now obviously more willing to go without a front-line spinner.
Prior to Sunday, the 37-year-old had played every daytime Test for Australia since July 2013, although he had been passed over twice when fit for pink-ball matches in the previous 18 months. Lyon bowled just two overs in Perth last summer and has now missed five of the previous ten Test matches for Australia due to a combination of injury and selection.
When Lyon picked up a football during warm-up on Sunday morning and seemed to congratulate Boland on his selection, it was clear that he was not participating. Along with Travis Head’s tweakers and Beau Webster’s ability to bowl off-breaks, Australia also benefits from Matt Renshaw’s off-spin following his two wickets in the first Test victory.
