The 33-year-old Kiwi spearhead, Trent Boult, who is one of the leading wicket-takers for Team New Zealand in all three formats decided to withdraw himself from the board’s central contract. The pacer has been an active entity in the team’s plans and this decision does come in as a huge shock for the cricketing fraternity.
Boult is only one of the four Kiwi players to claim over 300 wickets in the longest format of the game and he is just thirty-one wickets away from claiming 200 wickets in ODIs.His partnership with his fellow teammate Tim Southee has been very productive and effective in the last decade and the duo shares a lot of credit for their inaugural Test championship victory.
The decisions that Quinton de Kock, and specifically Trent Boult, have made, point to a future of shorter international careers and more players happy to be part of the gig economy. With young families, it isn't easy to play both, international cricket and T20 leagues.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 10, 2022
Well, about the speculations over this decision taken by the pacer as part of his retirement, he clearly stated that it was more to do with his family and fitness. Also, hinted on making using this opportunity to play more domestic cricket around the world.
"This has been a really tough decision for me and I'd like to thank NZC for their support in getting to this point. Playing cricket for my country was a childhood dream and I'm so proud of everything I've been able to achieve with the BLACKCAPS over the past 12 years.
"Ultimately this decision is about my wife Gert and our three young boys. The family has always been the biggest motivator for me and I feel comfortable with putting it first and preparing ourselves for life after cricket,"
-Trent Boult
This does mean that his selection will be now purely based on his availability and his numbers at the domestic level will have to continue to impress the selectors if he is to make the cut over the central contract players. Well, he is a respected cricketer around the world, and from what we heard from the NZC chief executive, we can be certain that Boult has not played his last International game yet.
"We respect Trent's position, He's been completely honest and up-front with us about his reasoning and, while we're sad to be losing him as a fully-contracted player, he leaves with our best wishes and our sincere thanks.
"Trent's made a massive contribution to the BLACKCAPS since his Test debut in late 2011 and is now considered one of the best multi-format cricketers in the world. We're very proud of what he's achieved." White also said that the priority for selections in New Zealand will be given to the contracted players - central or domestic - and that Boult understands the situation.- White, NZC chief executive.
This might be a trend that is to follow in the coming days, as we see more domestic cricket around the world and the players have been paid handsomely, we might see more players focus more on the shortest version of the game. This does not mean that Boult’s decision has been completed in accordance with the same, he has made himself available for the selectors and what better to represent than when they are in need?
It is also to be noted that Boult is not the first Kiwi player to make this call, Kiwi pacer Mitchell McClenaghan made the same call back in 2017. However, the 36-year-old has never played a match for New Zealand since he has been an active player in the domestic circuit. Will this be the fate of Boult as well? Or, will we see him once again in the black?
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Cover Credits: ESPNofficial
