New Zealand Head Coach Gary Stead Reveals When Trent Boult Will Join The Kiwi Squad In England
Published - 25 May 2021, 06:36 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:46 AM
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has provided an update on the possible return of left-arm seamer Trent Boult into the touring party’s squad in England.
Trent Boult had requested time off after the suspension of the Indian Premier League as he wanted to spend some time with his family back home in New Zealand.
As a result, the champion pacer will miss the first Test of the two-match series against England which is scheduled to start at Lord’s on June 02.
According to Gary Stead, Trent Boult will leave for the United Kingdom on June 03 and he will be joining the New Zealand squad some time around the lead-up to the second Test match which takes place at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on June 10.
Boult is likely to slot in straight back into the playing 11 for the second Test as the Kiwis will want their senior seamer to get some valuable match-practice before the all-important ICC World Test Championship final against Virat Kohli’s Team at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton between June 18-22.
‘’Trent’s looking to leave New Zealand on the third of June, which is the second day of the Test match at Lord’s. So he will come into London and join up with the team somewhere around the time that we’re heading up to Birmingham,” Gary Stead said as quoted by stuff.co.nz.
The United Kingdom is currently experiencing its wettest May in years and for Gary Stead and his New Zealand contingent, it has been frustrating as the squad hasn’t been able to train outdoors properly since they arrived in the country.
However, Gary Stead stated that the Kiwis have done enough work back home and he is confident of his team putting up a good show during the Test series against England and the WTC final against the No.1 ranked Team India.
‘’I guess when you come to an English summer you still expect to get outside occasionally. It’s been a little bit frustrating because you come over and guys just want to get a feel for the different conditions here. We’ve been lucky with the buildup we had in New Zealand. We trained on grass wickets, we had two camps as well. So it’s not like we’re miles behind or anything like that,” Gary Stead added.
