Australian bowler Scott Boland is desperate to add to his ten Test caps this summer after a frustrating 12 months riddled with injury and long stints warming the bench.

The Victoria seamer has taken 35 Test wickets at 20.34 since his unforgettable debut at the MCG in 2021, but he hasn’t featured in any of Australia’s nine most recent Tests.

Boland, who received a national contract earlier this year, carried drinks for all seven Tests of the previous home summer as Australia’s frontline quicks played every match against Pakistan, the West Indies and New Zealand.

Because each of those Tests finished within four days, it gave Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood an additional day to recover between fixtures.

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“That’s sort of a tough thing about being on the sidelines,” Boland told Fox Cricket last month.

“You’re always hoping to play, but obviously the other three guys, with Lyon and Green and Marsh in the team, they’re bowling teams out pretty quick, so they’re not needing huge breaks.

“I thought for a seven-Test summer I would have got a crack at some stage, but they’ve been so resilient, and obviously they’re world-class bowlers. They just get the job done.”

Boland, who hasn’t represented Australia since last year’s Ashes Test at Headingley, is more than happy to run drinks if it means he’s next in line should injury intervene.

And when that chance arrives, whether that be during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy or next summer’s Ashes, he’ll be ready.

“I definitely wouldn’t trade it,” Boland said when asked about the frustrations of being the Test team’s perennial 12th man.

“I’d rather be around the Test team the whole time. My ambition is still to play more Test cricket, so I wouldn’t be giving that up.

“I’d much rather be 12th man than four or five bowlers back.

“I still count myself lucky to be in the position I am now.”

During last year’s Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, the MCG crowd burst into chants of “We want Boland” as the hometown hero patrolled the iconic venue’s boundary rope.

“I just want to get back out there and play another Test,” Boland continued.

“It’s pretty cool going for a walk around the boundary and have everyone shouting your name, wanting autographs and stuff. It’s pretty humbling.”

Despite missing a large chunk of the domestic season due to international commitments, Boland managed to play six Sheffield Sheffield matches for Victoria last summer, taking 34 wickets at 15.32 — no player from any state took more scalps at a lower average.

He maintained an economy rate of 2.28, comfortably the lowest figure among strike bowlers in the competition, while also leapfrogging Paul Reiffel to become Victoria’s leading wicket-taker in Sheffield Shield history with 334 dismissals.

However, Boland needed to undergo scans after experiencing knee and heal pain during Victoria’s final Sheffield Shield match of the summer, which briefly put him in doubt for the New Zealand tour.

In April, he travelled to the United Kingdom for his maiden County Championship campaign with Durham, but his intended four-month stint didn’t even last six hours. After bowling 13 overs on the first day of the season opener against Warwickshire, the right-armer flew home with a torn plantar fascia that required ten weeks rehabilitation.

Boland believes his inconsistent workloads from the home summer contributed to the injury setbacks, but he now has a better understanding of how to manage his body while touring with the Test squad.

“I probably found it a bit of a hard balance last year with trying to stay fresh, and then that’s sort of what led to my little injuries towards the back end of the Shield season,” Boland explained.

“I wasn’t bowling a huge amount because I wanted to stay fresh (for the Test team), but when you do play and bowl 45 overs in a Shield game, it’s a big spike.

“So coming into this summer, I’ll try and manage that a bit better.”

The silver lining of Boland’s county stint being cut short was the rare luxury of enjoying a full pre-season heading into the 2024/25 summer.

After recovering from his foot injury, the 35-year-old travelled to Darwin to mentor the Melbourne Stars in August’s Top End T20 Series before returning home to prepare for the Sheffield Shield, which gets underway on Tuesday.

“It’s been really good, I’ve enjoyed being at home. Four months with the family’s been really nice,” Boland said.

“Hopefully I can bring some good performances (for Victoria) to make sure I’m in the Test squad when India comes around.

“It looks like I’ll play a decent amount of Sheffield Shield cricket at the start of the (summer).

“There’s really good breaks between all the Shield games … I’m pretty keen to get into it.”

Boland has also enjoyed prior success against India in the Test arena, helping Australia win last year’s World Test Championship final at The Oval by dismissing opener Shubman Gill twice and removing Virat Kohli in the second innings.

Victoria will face Tasmania for its Sheffield Shield opener at Junction Oval from Tuesday, with the first ball scheduled for 10.30am AEST.