Steve Waugh believes Scott Boland could be Australia's best bowler in the Ashes.
The only trick is, the Victoria quick has to get on the field first.
George Bailey and his selection panel will face the hardest decision of their tenure this week when they make a call on their bowling attack for the first Test at Edgbaston.
Only picked in Australia's team when Josh Hazlewood has been injured, Boland has proven since his 2021 debut he is far more than just a reserve bowler sin.
The Victorian has taken 33 wickets at 14.57, the third-best average in history, and has an economy rate of 2.31 - the second-best of all seamers in the past four years.
Boland proved in Australia's World Test Championship win over India he has the game to work in England, with match figures of 5-105.
On seaming decks, Boland's relative lack of height allows him to move the ball off a good length and still hit the stumps.
It's the kind of thing that excites Waugh, Australia's last captain to win an Ashes series in England.
"He is a great Test-match bowler," Waugh said.
"He can be the most successful of our attack in this Ashes series. I just love the way he bowls.
"He is always at the batsman and hits the pitch really hard."
If selectors do opt to pick Boland, it will mean leaving out Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc, given Pat Cummins is a lock as captain.
Starc brings a point of difference as a left-armer, and while he can leak runs Australia are happy to bank on his wicket-taking ability.
Hazlewood has been limited to four Tests in the past two years through injury but remains one of the most reliable bowlers in the world.
It would be a bold call to leave one out for Edgbaston but omitting Boland would also be brutal.
“I don’t know (if that's the case)," Boland said.
"That’s my job ... to keep performing, keep making the selectors’ job hard.
"I’ve just got to keep doing my role, keep taking wickets.
"If I can play it’s great. If I don’t play then obviously I’m disappointed. But I know I’ll get a chance at some stage.”
Boland said he expected the attack to be rotated throughout the English summer, conceding it would be hard for him to play all six Tests.
"I’ve got through six Shield games in two months before, and it's hard work," he said.
“If there’s one or two games that are short, like two or three days, it makes it a bit easier.
“But everyone’s got their head around (the fact) we’re going to have to rotate."
The 34-year-old said he had also had little issue with being tempted into going too full in England searching for wickets, as can often be the case for first-timers.
“Bowling on the MCG for so long, I’ve always felt that as soon as I try to chase wickets I go for runs," Boland said.
"I just try and keep my game plan as simple as I can. As soon as I stray from that I want to go back into it as soon as I can."
