With Australian captain Pat Cummins almost certain to miss at least the first Ashes Test next month due to a lingering back injury, Scott Boland has delivered a perfectly timed reminder of his value to the national side - spearheading Victoria to a hard-fought Sheffield Shield win over New South Wales.
On a lively Junction Oval pitch, Boland's trademark precision proved too much for the Blues, the Gulidjan quick claiming 5 for 67 in the second innings to go with his 3 for 53 in the first, as Victoria bowled NSW out for 216 to seal a 38-run victory inside three days.
His match figures of 8 for 120 earned him Player of the Match honours and reaffirmed his status as one of Australia's most reliable and disciplined seamers. His second-innings performance in particular was vintage - patient, unerring, and ruthless once he sniffed an opening.
After toiling without much reward early, he dismantled the NSW lower order in a devastating burst, removing the final five batters in quick succession. The spell came just a week after he bowled 35 overs in Victoria's opening-round win over South Australia, underlining his durability ahead of a potentially pivotal Test summer.
In pursuit of 255 - the highest total of the match - NSW looked in control early, with openers Sam Konstas and Blake Nikitaras cruising to 0/90 in good time.
Konstas, in particular, showed glimpses of the audacious strokeplay that made him a breakout star last season. The 20-year-old produced the shot of the day - an outrageous ramp for six over the slips off Boland - a reminder of his fearlessness during his Boxing Day heroics against India, and with form which seemed to have deserted him in the Caribbean.
However, after reaching 53, he chopped on from Todd Murphy, but NSW still looked in control at 5/184, with Ollie Davies at the crease. But when Davies, who had anchored the innings with a composed 64, was undone by a late-seaming Boland delivery that crashed into his leg stump, the tide turned firmly Victoria's way.
From there, Boland was relentless. He had Will Salzman caught at cover attempting an ill-judged drive to a ball not quite full enough, before clean bowling Nathan Lyon and Charlie Stobo.
His final act was to have Ryan Hadley caught in the gully - though the NSW quick's visible frustration and subsequent replays suggested the ball and bat may not have met one another at any stage.
Boland's haul continues a remarkable domestic record that has made him Victoria's all-time leading wicket taker, and puts him front and centre in the national selectors' eyes as they deal with the almost impossible task of replacing Cummins in Perth on November 20.
The 35-year-old's Test numbers remain astonishing - an average of 16.53, the best by any bowler in more than a century - and his iconic 6 for 7 on debut at the MCG against England in 2021 still lingers in the collective memory.
Yet his 2023 Ashes campaign was a rare misstep. English batters, led by Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, walked at him aggressively, upsetting his rhythm and leaving him with just two wickets at an average of 115.5 across two Tests.
With conditions in Australia expected to favour his precise seam movement and natural bounce, Boland's vintage Junction Oval performance provided the perfect reminder as to why he remains one of the most dependable strike bowlers in world cricket.
