Boland and Starc match each other milestone for milestone with a hat-trick for the former and 6-fer for the latter.
‘Unreal’ – Starc and Boland amaze each other with stunning feats.
Scott Boland, who was full of admiration for Mitchell Starc’s “unreal” performance in winning the fastest five-for in men’s Test history to beat West Indies for 27 as Australia completed a 3-0 series sweep in Jamaica, acknowledged that he was a little anxious before claiming his first Test hat-trick.
With Boland becoming the twelfth Australian to claim a Test hat-trick and Starc taking the five-for in just 15 balls, the West Indies were bowled out for the second-lowest score in Test history, just one more than New Zealand’s record of 26.
It wasn’t until the 12th over, when the West Indies were already 23 for 6, that Boland entered the game. His breakthrough came in his second over, the fourteenth of the innings, when he claimed a hat-trick with his first three deliveries, dismissing Shamar Joseph leg before wicket after a successful DRS review, Jomel Warrican clean bowled with a beautiful delivery, and Justin Greaves caught at second slip.
“I was a bit nervous on that last ball, but yeah amazing feeling,” Boland told the broadcasters after Australia completed the 176-run win. “[I was] just trying to keep concentrating and keep putting balls in good areas. I felt like I started a little bit slow from that end yesterday. So, yeah, happy to start off well.”
Before he nicked a superb pitch to second slip, Greaves had been the only hitter from the West Indies to reach double figures. Greaves had to defend as Boland angled into off; it nibbled and bounced to get the edge. Boland then tucked one back into Shamar’s back pad after going around the wicket to him. Adrian Holdstock, the umpire, kept his finger down, but Australia quickly reviewed. The verdict was overturned because ball-tracking clearly demonstrated that it was smashing the top of the middle well below bail height.
Near-unplayable was Boland’s hat-trick ball. Warrican pushed forward to try to cover the line, but it snaked in off the seam through the gate and crashed into the top of off, causing the Australians to celebrate greatly. He pitched significantly wider of off, almost a fifth-sixth stump line.
Since Peter Siddle in 2010, Boland became the first Australian to record a hat-trick. Boland was praised by Starc, who ended the match shortly after by taking a sixth wicket.
“He’s amazing, isn’t he?” Starc said after receiving his match and series awards. “He would have played so many more Test matches in another team. But every time he comes in, he’s on the money, like we saw this week, a hat-trick, he is never far from the perfect length as soon as he comes in. He’s preparing all the time to play and this week he got his opportunity and showed what a wonderful Test bowler he is.”