Trent Alexander Boult is a left-arm fast bowler who is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways and pose a challenge to top-order batsmen. He is arguably one of the best new-ball bowlers in the world right now. Boult was born on July 22, 1989, in Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, and has proven to be one of the Kiwi team’s most deadly assets.
Boult first demonstrated his abilities when, at the age of 17, he was declared the best high school bowler in the world. He was also leading his nation in the Under-19 World Cup the next year. He did not, however, allow an easy transition to international cricket.
He had a stress fracture in his back, which caused him to retire from cricket for two years. That was due to a change in his bowling action, which required him to revert to the bowling action he used as a child.
Records
Highest wicket-taker in the 2015 ICC World Cup. Second bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a day-night Test.
In January 2016, he was the ICC World No. 1 ODI bowler.
Awards
In 2015, he was called to the World Test XI.
In 2015, he was named to the World ODI Xi team.
CWC 2015 Team of the Tournament pick
In 2017, he was awarded the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal.
Career
Domestic Career
Trent Boult, a left-handed swing bowler, made his First-Class debut in 2007 when he was selected for New Zealand’s ‘A’ team’s tour of India.
IPL Career
Trent Boult attracted the eye of IPL franchises after his impressive success in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and he was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015. As a result of the SRH’s abundance of gun bowlers such as Dale Steyn, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Karn Sharma, and Praveen Kumar, Boult only got to play seven matches, picking up nine wickets. He didn’t have any opportunities in the next season, so SRH let him go.
Trent Boult was acquired by the Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils) in 2017, and the 2018 season was Boult’s best in the IPL so far. In 2018, the left-armer took 18 wickets in 14 games. The Kiwi was let go again after a disappointing IPL season in 2019, in which he only played 5 matches. In 2019, the Mumbai Indians purchased the Kiwi left-arm pacer for Rs 3.2 crore from the Delhi Capitals, where he now joins fellow New Zealand paceman Mitchell McClenaghan.
International Career
At the age of 19, Boult was named to the New Zealand squad for the one-day series against Australia on January 21, 2009. Boult just got to play in the Prime Minister’s XI warm-up game, where he went wicketless in seven overs. During the tour, Boult was clocked as the New Zealand team’s fastest bowler, with a top speed of 143.3 km/h.
In October 2014, he returned to the ODI side for the home series against South Africa, but he did not appear in the games against Pakistan in the UAE. The selectors picked him for the 2015 World Cup squad because of his ability to swing the ball both directions at high speeds.
Boult initially struggled to get into limited-overs teams due to the belief that he doesn’t drive the white ball as much as the red. But his performance in Test cricket was too convincing to overlook: he reached 100 wickets in his 29th match, and just two years after his debut, he was New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker. It was a fine match, with Brendon McCullum emphasising attacking cricket in shorter formats as well, and Boult proving himself as a bowler who liked to get batsmen out rather than keep them silent.
Confirmation came in the 2015 World Cup, where he finished as the joint-leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets in nine matches, including 5 for 27 in a dramatic win over Australia.
Boult claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in the fourth ODI of India’s 2018–19 New Zealand tour, tying Richard Hadlee for the most by a New Zealand bowler. He took 5/21 to assist his squad in dismissing India for their lowest ODI total since 2010. Boult was named man of the match as New Zealand went on to win one of their greatest games.
Trent Boult was instrumental in guiding New Zealand to the CWC 2019 finals. In the ten matches he played, he took 17 wickets. However, Trent Boult is best known for his catch on the cow-corn boundary in the final at Lord’s, where he steppedpen on the skirting after taking the catch and gave Ben Stokes a life in the dying stages of the match. Stokes made the Kiwis pay as their World Cup dream was crushed once again in front of their eyes.
In the 2011–12 season, Boult made his Test debut in the Second Test against Australia in Hobart, which New Zealand won by 7 runs, giving them their first test win in Australia since 1985 and their first test win over Australia since 1993. He’s had a decent start to his career, with wickets against England, the West Indies, India, and Sri Lanka. His crowning achievement came against the West Indies in the second Test at Basin Reserve, where he took his first 10-wicket haul.
Throughout the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the left-handed pacer continued to put in strong results, and he proved to be an excellent foil for another young pacer, Tim Southee. In 2013, he maintained his strong form against England, taking 19 wickets in five matches, including his second best test match innings bowling figures of 6/68 at Eden Park in March.
Boult became the first New Zealander to take a five-wicket haul in a day-night test, and the second overall after Josh Hazlewood, in the first-ever day-night test in history.
Boult’s highest Test figures came in 2018, when he took 6/32 in the First Test against England in Auckland. New Zealand dominated the Test by an innings and 49 runs after bowling England out for 58 in their first innings. Man of the Match was awarded to Boult.
On February 9, 2013, Trent Boult made his T20I debut against England. He took the wickets of Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad in his entire quota of four overs. Boult didn’t play in the entire 2016 edition due to New Zealand’s horses for courses method in the World T20, which won them a lot of praise. Despite his performance in the ODI and Test formats, Boult has only played 22 Twenty20 Internationals in his career.
Family
Trent Boult was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, on July 22, 1989, to Wendy and Ian Boult. His brother Jono Boult is a first-class player for Northern Districts and was educated at Otumoetai College.
Trent Boult proposed to his girlfriend Gert Smith in June 2016, and the two married in a private ceremony at Kauri Bay Boomrock in August 2017. Boult and Gert have a son named Bowie Boult together.