Scott Boland has identified Joe Root as the England batter Australia must 'take down' during the upcoming Ashes series, as Pat Cummins stepped up his recovery from a back injury with an encouraging net session at Perth Stadium.
Boland, who took 18 wickets at nine runs apiece in the 2021-22 Ashes, including six for seven on debut, said: 'Hopefully we can keep Joe Root and the guys in the middle-order pretty quiet. You always want to take down the best players.'
Cummins, who has been sidelined with a stress fracture hotspot, bowled for almost an hour at full speed and is targeting a return for the day-night Test in Brisbane starting 4 December. Steve Smith will captain Australia in the first Test in Perth.
Boland reflected on the 2023 series in England, where he took two wickets at 115 across two outings as England's aggressive batting approach challenged him. 'I learned a lot. There will be tweaks to my gameplan, but I just need to execute a bit better,' he said.
