Trent Boult to miss England series
Trent Boult is not expected to play against England next month as Coach Gary Stead has essentially ruled him out of their Test series.
The paceman declined his core contract in August, although he has since played white-ball cricket for the Black Caps.
He participated in the T20 World Cup for New Zealand in October and November of last year, but he hasn’t played for his nation since.
Boult is part of franchise cricket in the beginning of 2023 after leaving the Big Bash League to play for a while in the newly formed ILT20 League in the United Arab Emirates.
Stead does not see Boult contributing because the competition will end just four days before New Zealand hosts Ben Stokes’ team at Mount Maunganui for the first of two Test matches.
“No, I wouldn’t have thought so,” Stead said. “I mean Trent and I have had discussions and I think his return from the UAE would only be a day or two immediately prior to that [start of England Tests]. I think from a workload perspective that’s out of the picture.”
Injuries scare for New Zealand
On the eve of ODI and T20 series against Pakistan and India, the New Zealand team has suffered from minor injuries that shouldn’t have an impact on the test matchup next month.
Tom Blundell, the test wicketkeeper, has an adductor strain, but coach Gary Stead said is likely to fully recover before the start of the eagerly awaited two-test home series against England.
The pace bowler Matt Henry, who played with an abdominal strain in the final test against Pakistan, is not the ODI squad and will not play in this week’s series against Pakistan.
However, Jamieson will make his competitive cricket debut in the 20-over Super Smash after missing the Trent Bridge Test in June of last year due to a back ailment, which is a good news for New Zealand cricket ahead of the big series.
Tim Southee without Trent Boult
It now appears certain that Tim Southee, New Zealand’s new captain, will not have his dependable new-ball partner, which will be a huge test for him.
Boult, 33, will only make his way back to New Zealand on the eve of the tests because he is currently playing in the UAE T20 league.
Boult expressed hope that his test career would continue after letting go his New Zealand Cricket central contract last year and noted that the first test against England will be at Bay Oval, his home field in Mt Maunganui.
In fact, he played in the IPL final just a few days prior to the first test in England last year, demonstrating his preparation in just one training session before going on to have a great series.
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