Trent Boult could play for New Zealand in their second Testagainst England at Edgbaston thanks to relaxed quarantine in the United Kingdom.
Boult had opted to return home instead of travelling straight to the UK after the Indian Premier League was suspended midway in early May. The 31-year-old joined the NZ squad last week. Before the first Test, coach Gary Stead had mentioned that the turnaround for the second Test would be too tight for Boult.
However, the updated quarantine protocols meant Boult could start training earlier than originally planned. The final decision on whether he plays at Edgbaston will be taken before the match, but it’s looking highly likely that Boult will take the field.
“There’s a chance, there are a few things that have changed. The British government has relaxed their quarantine stipulations so Trent is out of isolation three or four days earlier than expected,”
“The original plan we had in place with all the information we had at the time was that we weren’t going to play him in the second Test, but coming out of that isolation probably three days earlier than what we originally anticipated does put a slightly different spin on it.
Stead said.
Trent Boult, one of the best pace bowlers in the world, has 281 wickets in 71 Tests while maintaining an average of 28. He’s tailor-made for English conditions, where he has taken 21 wickets in four matches at an average of 23.14.
If the left-arm pacer plays in the second Test, it offers him a great opportunity to get match time under his belt ahead of the WTC final. Some cricket pundits have questioned his place in the NZ team, with Boult lacking red ball practice.
This also poses New Zealand with a question regarding which player to leave out. It’ll be interesting to see if they go with an all out pace attack by leaving out Mitchell Santner or rest one of the pacers ahead of the WTC final. It’s an opportunity for NZ to manage the workload of Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson, who all bowled more than 40 overs each in the first Test. The 32-year-old Southee could be the most likely candidate to be rotated.
“We have to manage all the bowlers. Haven’t had that conversation yet with Tim. He bowled really well, he’s a work horse and loves the hard work. Again, a conversation we’ll have with our support staff in the morning to see where everyone is at and scrub up before we make that firm decision,”
Stead added.
New Zealand’s spin all-rounder Mitchell Santner had injured his finger ahead of the first Test. Although he went wicketless in the first match, Stead seems impressed with the way he bowled. He believes that spinners have a role to play in a five-day match and the pitches in England offer more help than the ones in New Zealand. Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra are the other spinners in the NZ squad.
Stead was happy with the team’s overall performance in their first Test since January. After the second Test at Edgbaston, Kane Williamson’s men will head to Southampton for the World Test Championship final against India, which starts on June 18. Their opponents, Indian players, have completed the quarantine period after arriving and have started their preparations.
