Veteran England cricketer and their batting mainstay, Joe Root, will have a target on his back as Australian fast bowler Scott Boland has named him as someone whom Australians will try to keep quiet during the upcoming high-octane Ashes clash. Root, the second-highest run scorer in Test cricket, has attracted a lot of media attention in the build-up to the first Test, which will be played in Perth starting from Friday.
“You always want to take down the best players. In the past when Joe Root has been captain, you want to try to make sure they have as little impact as you can,” Boland was quoted as saying by BBC Sports.
“England have quite a few good batters we’ll be looking to do that to. Hopefully we can keep Joe Root and the guys in the middle-order pretty quiet,” added Boland, who dismissed Root four times during the last Ashes tour Down Under.
Australia will play a depleted pace bowling attack in the absence of skipper Pat Cummins and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, both of whom are ruled out of the first Test due to injuries. In their absence, Boland and Starc will likely be joined by uncapped 31-year-old Brendan Doggett as the specialist seamers.
“Obviously you don’t want to be missing two great players like Josh and Pat. Our bowling stocks have been really strong for quite a while – no one has been able to break in,” he said on Australia’s pace attack.
“It’s going to be an exciting time. A new guy or two will get a look in. They’re not inexperienced guys. Brendan is 31 years old, he’s played a lot of first-class cricket and he knows his game. He knows what he’s going to need to do to express his skills out on the big stage,” he added.
Asked if he has anything to prove in this series, Boland replied, “Only to myself.”
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