Boland is one of a handful of Indigenous Australians selected to play for Australia at international level and has become just the second male Aboriginal player to have played Test cricket for Australia since December 2021, after Jason Gillespie for the first time to do so Has.

Early Career

Boland was born in Mordialloc, Melbourne, Victoria and attended St Bede's College, Mentone.[5] Boland began his career at Parkdale Cricket Club, making his first competitive appearance for the club in under-12 competition at the age of six. He then rose through the ranks at Parkdale Cricket Club before moving to Victorian Premier Cricket Club Frankston Peninsula at the age of 16 to further his cricket development. After leaving Parkdale, Boland had played a total of 41 games for the club, conceding 31 wickets at a 12.35 average.

It was the move to Frankston that prompted Boland to work more on his bowling at the behest of then-coach Nick Jewell. After the move, Boland's first two seasons were less productive, playing just six first-grade games with just three wickets. However, he fared much better in the second grade, taking 37 wickets in the 2008/09 season at an average of 18.60. His next season proved more successful in which he played 20 games for the first class and won 27 wickets with a 27 average. In another consistent season with Frankston-Peninsula, Boland won 33 wickets with an average of 25.3 in the 2010–11 season, earning him a rookie state contract with the Victorian team.

Domestic Career

Despite a strong start to the 2011/2012 season with Frankston-Peninsula, Boland was only called up for the debut in Victoria's fourth Sheffield Shield game of the season on 11 November 2011 against Western Australia. In that game he bowled 25 overs, taking a total of 2/92 over the two innings. Despite this modest return, he played the next game and took 4/87 for the match. He went on to make another appearance in the Sheffield Shield that season against South Australia, taking 3/89 and finishing the season on 9 wickets at a 29.77 average.

In the 2012–13 season, Boland was not a regular member of either the Sheffield Shield or Ryobi Cup squad, playing in seven Victoria's games in both formats. In the Sheffield Shield, he took a total of 6 wickets over 5 innings with a 41.83 batting average. His best numbers of the season came against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval, where he won 3/30 in the fourth inning. However, these efforts were in vain as South Australia won by just 1 wicket. Boland fared better in the Ryobi Cup, finishing with 9 wickets at 27.11 and a career-best List A scores of 5/63, in another narrow loss to South Australia.

The 2013/14 season was much more productive for Boland as he enjoyed extended stints in Victoria's teams for both the Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup tournaments. Boland played 9 matches in the Shield this season, taking 19 wickets for an average of 37.73. He also recorded numbers of 5/84 in the loss to South Australia. That season, Boland achieved his highest score in professional cricket when he stepped in as night watchman for Victoria, scoring 51 of 212 deliveries.

The 2015–16 season was a breakout season for Boland at both domestic and international levels. Boland scored a career-best 7/31 against Western Australia to catch the national selection's attention and he was drafted on for Australia's Test against the West Indies in Hobart. His performances in all formats were strong, eventually leading to a selection to play for Australia against India in their January 2016 tour of Australia. At the end of the domestic season he was awarded the Bill Lawry Medal as Victoria's top Sheffield Shield player, taking 33 wickets at 20.93 en route to helping Victoria win another Sheffield Shield title. Boland took 7 wickets at 37.28 in the Matador Cup competition, another consistent season in the competition.

The 2017–18 season was another consistent season for Boland as he won 38 wickets at 26.92 and finished the season as the third highest wicket-taker. His best numbers of 4/41 came against South Australia, taking 8/129 for the game. Boland's was the mainstay of Victoria's JLT One-Day Cup, taking 6 wickets at 63.50 for the tournament.

The 2018/19 national season was another successful season for Boland. For Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, Boland took 48 wickets, the most from Victoria, at a miserly 19.66 average. He took two 5-wicket draws and took 6/49 against New South Wales to bowl Victoria to an innings win. He also took 7/54 in the first innings against South Australia to finish with numbers of 9/102. These performances helped Boland on his way to the Sheffield Shield Player of the Season Award.

International Career

On January 29, 2016, he made his Twenty20 International debut for Australia against India.

After consistent performances in the Ryobi Cup, Boland was called up to the ODI squad to take on India on his tour of Australia. According to his then-state captain Matthew Wade, Boland was chosen for his ability to pitch the final overs of the game. Wade said: "He's worked really hard over the past 18 months to improve those skills and be a finisher. That probably got him into the Australian team. His death footage was outstanding. He'll own that and hopefully he'll dominate that for us. Boland went on to post records of 0/74 from 10 overs, the worst records of any Australian bowling debutant of all time.

Notwithstanding this poor return on debut, Boland played for Australia for the rest of the series. He would concede just 1 wicket over the other 4 games, conceding 259 runs in the process. His performances in the T20 internationals against India were also disappointing, playing in two of the three games in that series without a wicket. Despite the poor return against India, Boland was a mainstay in Australia's ODI team in 2016, making all 14 of his ODI appearances that year.

He toured New Zealand with the Australian team in February 2016, playing in place of the injured Kane Richardson and posting scores of 2/61 and 2/59. Boland bowled well in the series, consistently taking crucial top-flight wickets, but it wasn't enough to win the series as Australia suffered a 2-1 series loss.

Boland's next international appearances were in a tri-series between the West Indies, South Africa and Australia in the West Indies. He was called up to the squad after fellow Victorian John Hastings was injured and toured with the Australia squad, being called up to the squad for two games, one of which was canceled due to weather. Boland played another against the West Indies where he took 2/69 from 10 overs and helped limit the West Indies to 283 which Australia chased to win by six wickets.

His next run with the ODI team was the Australian tour of Sri Lanka in July and August 2016, where Boland featured in two of the five ODI games on the tour and one of the T20 internationals. He played twice in the ODI matches and took two wickets at 32 when Australia won the ODI series convincingly. In the T20 internationals, Boland played in one match in the series and scored 3/26 from his four overs in the match for his best T20 numbers of his career.

In 2018, Boland was selected into the Aboriginal XI that toured England to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1868 Aboriginal team that toured England. His brother Nick was also in the 13 squad. The 1868 Tour was the first time an Australian sports team had represented the country abroad. Boland excelled on the tour, with some commentators noting that he was unplayable at times. In the six matches he took five wickets with an average of 28.40 and was awarded the Taverners Australia Indigenous Cricketer of the Year Award.

In December 2021, Boland was included in Australia's Test squad as a bowling cover ahead of the third game of the 2021–22 Ashes series. He made his Test debut on December 26, 2021 against England. Boland accepted his baggy green hat from Josh Hazlewood. He took seven wickets in the match, including 6/7 in England's second innings. He was awarded the Mullagh Medal for his achievement. Playing in the final three Tests of the Ashes series, he took 18 wickets with an average of 9.55.