MELBOURNE, Australia—
Scott Boland said he was living
the dream Sunday after becoming only the second Indigenous man to play Test
cricket for Australia.
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The experienced 32-year-old was called up as injury cover
after the second Ashes Test and unexpectedly got the nod for the third match
with Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser and Josh Hazlewood either not fit or being
rested.
He made the most of the opportunity on home turf at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground, overcoming early nerves to take 1-48 as Australia
skittled England for 185 in the first innings.
"It means a lot to join a pretty small club and
hopefully it's just the start for the Indigenous community. I just want to be a
role model to encourage Indigenous kids to want to play cricket," he said.
"The Indigenous community in AFL (Australian Rules) and
rugby is so big and hopefully one day Aboriginals in cricket can be just as
big."
Boland, who hails from the Gulidjan tribe in western
Victoria state, is the first Indigenous man to play for Australia since Jason
Gillespie, who won 71 caps and played his last Test 15 years ago.
Four Indigenous players have won Test caps for Australia --
Boland, Gillespie, Faith Thomas and Ashleigh Gardner.
"You hear of athletes who said they saw Cathy Freeman
in 2000 (at the Sydney Olympics) and that's inspired them to be the next
Olympian," Cricket Australia's Indigenous advisory chair Justin Mohamed
told reporters.
"Hopefully there will be the six-, eight- or
10-year-old watching something like this (Boland) and saying 'that's what I
want to do'."
"It's a magnificent day for Scott, it's a magnificent
day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders," he added.
Boland's 272 first-class wickets have included 42 in his
past six games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground at an average of 14.4, which
played a big part in his call up.
"Obviously I was really excited when the finger went
up," he said after trapping Mark Wood lbw.
"I was so happy and all my teammates really got around
me ... (that) made it really special."
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