Trent Boult trained hard at the Eden Park on Tuesday. The leader of this Kiwi pace pack, the left-armer represents a threat to the Indian line-up.
The first Test beckons here on Thursday and Boult appears to have recovered well from a quad muscle injury.
“I am fit and looking forward to the first Test. It will be a good challenge,” he said after the session.
On his partnership with Tim Southee, Boult said, “He swings the ball away and I bring it in. We team up well.”
Boult said, “There will be short-pitched bowling. But you need to mix it up with other deliveries to get results.”
Game-plan Asked what his game-plan against the Indian batsmen would be, Boult replied, “If we can pitch the ball up and get it to move, we can exploit the defensive weaknesses of the Indian batsmen.”
The year 2013 was a path-breaking one for the 24-year-old Boult.
He scalped 46 batsmen in 12 Tests, easing into the role of a spearhead.Boult gave much of the credit to pace bowling coach Shane Bond.
“He has had a massive impact on us. He reads the situations and conditions well and has passed on so much to us mentally and technically.”
Unlike many present-day cricketers, Boult’s focus is principally in Test cricket.
“I am more a Test bowler than an ODI bowler at this stage,” he said.
Queried about the pitches for the two Tests against India, Boult said, “It’s a drop-in pitch here. It would have bounce in it. How much movement it could provide, it might be difficult to tell now.”
The Rotorua-born paceman has 72 wickets in 20 Tests at 26.54.
And this is just the beginning. This Boult can strike.
