Scott Boland's rapid rise to cricketing royalty has not spontaneously happened. Any cricketing tragic would know Boland has meticulously developed his robotic line and length over several years.
Boland leads the 2021/22 summer wickets column with 35 at 11.82 and has 129 at 20.47 from his last four summers, definitely not just a flash in the pan.
Boland finished his first test series with 18 wickets at 9.55. The last bowler to take 15 or more wickets at an average of less than 10 was Jim Laker in his famous 1956 series. Before that, it was Bobby Peel in 1888.
Below I have gone through history and looked at some of the most outstanding debut test series between Australia and England.
3. Frank Foster all-round heroics (England 1911-12)
Frank Foster achieved so much for a first-class career that lasted only seven years. 6,548 runs at 26.61 from 159 matches, Foster was a devastating bowler with 717 wickets at 20.75. In 1911, before he toured Australia, Foster's supreme skill as an all-rounder was on the show, leading Warwickshire to their first County Championship title.
After losing their first Test in Sydney, England went on to win the next four, with Sydney Barnes and Foster claiming 66 victims between them. Foster's 32 wickets at 21.63 and 226 runs at 32.29 capped off a brilliant Ashes campaign down under. Foster bowled a leg theory in Australia, bowling his left-arm swingers around the wicket angling into the pads, akin to Mitchell Starc.
What happened next?
Foster played another 76 first-class matches, hitting two centuries including a 305, and took 330 wickets at 20.11. Foster's career was over at 25-years-of-age due to a war-time motorcycle accident.
