{"id":10440,"date":"2025-12-26T12:27:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T06:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=674938"},"modified":"2025-12-26T12:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T06:57:13","slug":"ashes-4th-test-scott-boland-likley-to-open-batting-innings-as-20-wickets-fall-on-day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/cricket\/ashes-4th-test-scott-boland-likley-to-open-batting-innings-as-20-wickets-fall-on-day-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashes 4th Test: Scott Boland likley to open batting innings as 20 wickets fall on Day 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"258\" data-end=\"637\">A dramatic opening day of the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw <strong data-start=\"342\" data-end=\"395\">all 20 wickets fall with one over still remaining<\/strong>, underlining just how challenging the surface has been for batters from both sides. With Australia yet to begin their second innings, the possibility of <strong data-start=\"549\" data-end=\"636\">a nightwatchman being sent in could push the wicket tally even higher before stumps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"639\" data-end=\"1081\">The MCG pitch has already come under the scanner, behaving as a <strong data-start=\"703\" data-end=\"724\">bowler\u2019s paradise<\/strong> throughout the day. Seam movement, variable bounce, and relentless pressure from the quicks meant neither batting lineup found any sustained rhythm. The curator will be hoping for a marked improvement in batting conditions over the next few days to avoid further criticism, with the contest teetering on the edge of being dominated entirely by the bowlers.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1083\" data-end=\"1351\">With Australia leading by <strong data-start=\"1109\" data-end=\"1158\">42 runs after England were bowled out for 110<\/strong>, attention has now shifted to who will walk out to bat if the hosts decide to protect their top order late in the day. Interestingly, <strong data-start=\"1293\" data-end=\"1350\">Scott Boland has emerged as a potential nightwatchman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1353\" data-end=\"1700\">Boland was seen <strong data-start=\"1369\" data-end=\"1390\">rushing to pad up<\/strong>, sparking speculation around his role, and teammate <strong data-start=\"1443\" data-end=\"1503\">Michael Neser hinted that the seamer \u201cmight\u201d be sent out<\/strong> if Australia choose to see out the final over safely. While no official confirmation has been made, Boland\u2019s solid defensive technique and familiarity with MCG conditions make him a viable option.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1702\" data-end=\"1885\">Whether Australia send out a recognised nightwatchman or risk a specialist batter, one thing is clear \u2014 <strong data-start=\"1806\" data-end=\"1884\">this surface is set to remain a major talking point as the Test progresses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1887\" data-end=\"1911\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A dramatic opening day of the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw all 20 wickets fall with\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":32924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}