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Scott Michael Boland (born April 11th, 1989) is an Indigenous Australian international cricketer. He currently plays for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. Boland is one of a handful of Indigenous Australians to be selected to play for Australia at international level, and to date, he is one of only 5 Aboriginal players to have played for Australia. In March 2019, he was awarded Shield Player of the Year by Cricket Australia. He plays as a right arm fast-medium bowler.

Rise through the Grades
Starting his career with Parkdale Cricket Club, Boland first played a competitive game for the club aged 6, in the under 12’s competition. He then rose through the ranks of Parkdale Cricket Club, before joining Victorian Premier Cricket club the Frankston Heat (now Frankston-Peninsula Cricket Club) at age 16, to further his cricketing development. Upon leaving Parkdale, Boland had played 41 matches in total for the club, taking 31 wickets at an average of 12.35. It was moving to Frankston-Peninsula Cricket Club that prompted Boland to work more on his bowling, at the behest of then coach Nick Jewell. After moving, Boland’s first two seasons were less productive, only getting 6 matches in first grade, with just 3 wickets to show for his efforts. He fared much better in second grade, however, getting 37 wickets in the 2008/2009 season, at an average of 18.6. This wicket-taking ability did not go unnoticed, and soon he was a consistent member of the first-grade squad. His next season proved more fruitful, where he played 20 matches for first grade, taking 27 wickets at an average of 27. Another consistent season with Frankston-Peninsula saw Boland take 33 wickets at an average of 25.3 in the 2010/2011 season, earning him a rookie state level contract with the Victorian Cricket team.

Domestic career
Despite a strong start to the 2011/2012 season with Frankston-Peninsula Boland wasn’t called up to debut until Victoria’s fourth Sheffield Shield game of the season, coming up against Western Australia, on the 11th of November 2011. In this game, he bowled 25 overs, taking a total of 2/92 across the two innings. Despite this modest return, he would play the next game, taking 4/87 for the match. He went on to make another appearance in the Sheffield Shield this season against South Australia, taking 3/89, finishing the season with 9 wickets at an average of 29.77.

International career
After consistent performances in the Ryobi Cup, Boland was selected in the ODI squad to take on India, in their tour of Australia. According to his state captain at the time, Matthew Wade, Boland was selected for his ability to bowl the final overs of the match, Wade saying: “He's worked really hard over the last 18 months to hone those skills and be a finisher. That's probably got him picked in the Australian team. His death stuff has been outstanding. He'll own that and he'll hopefully dominate that for us." He was selected to debut against India in the first match of the series, at the WACA ground. Boland went on to record figures of 0/74 off 10 overs, the worst figures by a debutant Australian bowler ever.

In 2018 Boland was selected in the Aboriginal XI that was to tour England to celebrate the famous 1868 Indigenous team that traveled over to England. He, alongside team-mate Dan Christian, and his brother, Nick Boland, were amongst a squad of 13 selected to play matches to commemorate the 150th year since the famous Indigenous tour. The 1868 Indigenous tour is an incredibly important moment in Aboriginal culture, as it was one of the first times they were represented internationally. Due to this lack of representation, there are some Indigenous Australians who hold affections for teams other than Australia. Boland was a standout on the Aboriginal XI tour, some commentators noting he was unplayable at times. Over the 6 matches, Boland performed well, taking 5 wickets at an average of 28.40. Off the back of these performances Boland was presented with the Taverners Australia Indigenous Cricketer of the Year award, with his integral role in the Aboriginal XI tour being crucial to receiving this honour.

Personal Life
In 2017 Boland’s family discovered that his grandfather, John Edward, was Aboriginal, from the Gulidjan mob, who hail from the Colac area in Victoria. After discovering this, Boland sought to embrace his Indigenous heritage, playing in Indigenous representative teams, and seeking to further educate himself on Indigenous traditions.

Boland has a brother, Nick, who also played professional cricket, for Victoria’s Future League side. The Indigenous tour to England in 2018 was the first time that Scott and Nick played together at any level.