New Zealand star pacer Trent Boult ripped through Australia’s top-order with the new ball
In the opening game of the ODI series against Australia, Trent Boult tore through the heart of Australia’s top-order with a splendid explosion of swing and seam bowling, he had 3 for 12 after a splendid explosion of swing bowling, and Australia was 38 for 4 after 10 overs.
In the opening game of the ODI series against Australia, Trent Boult tore through the heart of Australia’s top-order with a splendid explosion of swing and seam bowling.
Boult had 3 for 12 after a splendid explosion of swing bowling and Australia was 38 for 4 after 10 overs when he was removed from the attack.
Matt Henry kept up with the pressure by removing Marcus Stoinis to leave the home side 44 for 5, yet Boult didn’t return until the 29th over by which time the match-characterizing stand between Alex Carey and Cameron Green had come to fruition.
Later, in the post-match presser, Boult said with a smile on his face,
“I thought of having a sixth, and maybe a seventh or eighth.”
So what was the reason behind New Zealand’s reluctance to continue with their pace spearhead? On his part, Tom Latham, New Zealand’s team deputy, demonstrated that the choice was taken considering Australia’s extensive batting order, with Glenn Maxwell scheduled to come in as low as number 8.
“You can look at it both ways,” Latham said in the presser.
“Either you can bowl him one moreover but you’ve got to look at the bigger picture, the batting line-up Australia have, they bat deep… whether you go for the kill at that moment or just hold him [Boult] back. The guys we’ve got in our line-up, whatever the situation is we back anyone to come in and take wickets.
“Whether we do that in the same situation next game or whether we do things slightly differently, that’s the way we went about it and we certainly back the guys in those situations. That’s the decision Kane decided to do… you do have to hold a few overs back now and again and that was the decision we went with,”
he added.
As the match progressed, the conditions too improved for batting, with the ball skidding on more under lights.
“The wicket probably got a little bit better than what we expected, skidded on a little bit more, and made batting a little bit easier. The way we were able to bowl at the top and put them under pressure was outstanding [but] unfortunately we weren’t able to create any chances through that partnership and they batted well. Hopefully, if we are in that situation tomorrow we can try and create a few more chances and get a few more wickets through the middle.”