‘Just thinking about lifting something pretty shiny’
New Zealand speedster Trent Boult, who returned to the national side after giving up on his central contract last year ahead of the ODI series against England from next month, said that he is hungry as ever to represent the country and play a big role in Kiwis lifting their maiden ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 at India.
Boult played his last ODI in September 2022 against Australia and asked to be released from his central contract to play more franchise T20 cricket and spend time with his family. But after his return to the national side for the ODI series starting from September 8 onwards, he looks more "hungry" than ever to lift the trophy that he could not lift in the 2015 and 2019 editions of the tournament, losing to Australia and England.
"It was not an easy decision to make just over a year ago to move away from the New Zealand cricket bubble in a way. I never wanted it to be about New Zealand or franchise cricket. I just respected the fact that my career is [only] so long, and just tried to make the most of my remaining years as a bowler. Yeah, definitely as hungry as ever to still represent the country, and hopefully do something special with the guys over the next couple of months. I cannot wait," said Boult as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"I have always had this in the back of my mind to come back and work towards an ODI World Cup. There is history involved there. The times we have had in previous campaigns have been very exciting. So just hungry to get involved, and hopefully play a big role. I'm just thinking about hopefully lifting something pretty shiny that we were pretty close to four years ago. That is the biggest focus," he added.
Boult is coming to NZ after a stint with MI New York in Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA, helping his side lift the trophy and emerged as the top wicket-taker. Before this, he played for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and followed it with a spell of games with MI Emirates in the inaugural International League T20 (ILT20) by United Arab Emirates (UAE) Cricket. During this long streak of franchise cricket appearances, he missed 35 international games for Kiwis.
"Life is short, make the most of everything. It has been an exciting 12 months or so on the road. I was getting the chance of experiencing cricket around the world. Just hot out of Texas for MLC. I had a great time out there, lifting the trophy with MI New York," said Boult.
"Just pretty grateful to get the experiences across a couple of big tournaments, and it has been different watching the Black Caps games from afar and seeing the guys go out there and take on the international game. I still respect the international game immensely; it plays a big role in any kid trying to come through and play cricket as a dream. The idea of a World Cup is still the pinnacle in my opinion as well," he concluded his point.
NZ will play four ODIs against England next month and then later a series against Bangladesh before leaving for the ICC Cricket World Cup in India, which will be held from October 5 to November 19. Boult, with 39 wickets, is the Kiwis' highest wicket-taker of all time in ODI World Cups, taking these scalps across just two editions. He will be expected to play the role of frontline bowler along with Tim Southee.
NZ also lost their all-rounder James Neesham to franchise cricket after he turned down a central contract after Boult. He remains in WC plans too but would not play the England series due to the birth of his first child.
Boult feels that international cricket has played a massive role in player's careers, times in franchise cricket were not smooth.
"I am not sure about the contracts. It is a hard question as well, with franchise cricket around the world. It is not taking over, but there is a lot more of it. I still think international cricket plays a massive role in, I suppose earning you the right to get into the franchises and play. And franchise cricket can be pretty hard. You are one or two performances away from being pushed out of the franchise. There are hundreds of cricketers trying to come in behind you and take that role as well. There is a lot at stake," he concluded.
