Boland remains unavailable for Melbourne Stars as he remains on standby as the first bowling reserve for the second Test.
“Lance has been released for the Melbourne match but will stay prepared for Test cricket as he remains firmly in our plans for the summer, should an opportunity arise,” national selector George Bailey said.
There has been some push and pull behind the scenes between Cricket Australia and the BBL clubs over availability of fringe Australia players. Brisbane Heat were very frustrated by losing four players to the Prime Minister’s XI team for the first two matches of the season to the point where Michael Neser was released from the PM’s XI to play in the Heat’s BBL opener against Stars.
Melbourne Renegades coach David Saker expressed surprise at Boland’s being ruled out of the BBL opener for the Stars.
Meanwhile, Victoria have named three Test players in Marcus Harris, Peter Handscomb and Will Pucovski to play in a two-day tour match against Pakistan at the Junction Oval in Melbourne in the lead-up to the second Test. The Victoria XI will be comprised of players who do not have BBL deals, including those three.
Australia squad for Melbourne Test David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Cameron Green, Scott Boland