Scott Boland got his pass into the Australian Cricket hall of fame on Tuesday after receiving the Mullagh Medal for his performance at the third Ashes Test in Melbourne. The 32-year-old made his debut in the third game of the five-match series.

Boland claimed match figures of 7-55 and is only the second Indigenous player to represent Australia’s men’s test-cricket side. The award honors Australia’s Indigenous team which toured England in 1868, according to reports from Associated Press.

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“I came to know on Christmas Eve and had a lot of support from teammates and family. It was a big step up from anything that I have played, and I knew it would be tough”, he said after winning the Mullagh Medal.

Scott Boland added, ” I want to thank the crowd for all their support over the last three days, really appreciate it. There were about 17 of us who learned about that tour of 1868, and my family and I are very proud about winning this award. I would like to thank the coaches for getting this chance to play on my home ground, and would also like to thank my parents, my wife and my two kids”, Cricbuzz reported.

The 32-year-old joined Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane on the list of the Mullagh Medal recipients. Rahane, who was the skipper of the Indian side against Australia in December last year, was presented with the medal for his century and floating the team to victory by building strong partnerships through India’s middle order.

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What is the Mullagh Medal?

Named after Johnny Mullagh, the first indigenous member of the Australian Cricket hall of fame, the medal is used to acknowledge the game of high-performing cricketers.  

Former first-class cricketer Charles Lawrence formed a team in 1868 consisting of Aboriginal men and brought them to London to play cricket. Mullagh played in 45 of the 47 matches on the 1868 England tour, scoring 1,698 runs at an average of 23.65 and taking 245 wickets at 10, media reports suggest.