THE TWELFTH MAN
- TRENT BOULT
This man’s accession to the ultimate file of Test bowlers in contemporary cricket has come as a ‘Boult from the blue’. The Northern Districts left arm pacer’s distinction lies in the fact that he is an articulate practitioner of bowling wicket to wicket deliveries. The 26 year old puts special emphasis on maintaining a consistent line and length, which in turn has fetched his unthinkable success in international cricket in general and Test cricket in particular. Boult has grabbed 32 Test wickets in 2015 at a reasonable average of 31.06 with 2 five wicket hauls and best bowling figures of 5/60 in an innings (which came against Australia in the recently concluded D/N Test match in Adelaide). Boult’s rise to the top is nothing but a reflection of New Zealand’s fine blueprint of nurturing budding cricketers which aims at exposing the youth to the longest format first and later gives them the opportunity to shine in limited overs cricket. He finished as the joint highest wicket taker (along with Mitchell Starc who also took 22 wickets in the tournament) in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and has established himself as the main strike bowler for Brendon McCullum and Co. and has overshadowed Tim Southee’s status in the side. Boult looks to emulate his idol and former Kiwi fast bowler Shane Bond which is gradually becoming evident in his bowling. The 6th placed bowler in the ICC Test Rankings for bowlers has thereby been accorded the position of the twelfth man in the squad.
We have the honour to congratulate all the candidates who have made it to Cric Fit’s Test team of the year. Hopefully, 2016 will be a bigger and better year for the longest format of the game.
