He has a record better than most, in ODIs and Test cricket; and that’s in an age of format specialists
Sidharth Monga08-Jun-2019June 5 in England was a great day for fast-bowling enthusiasts. Or even general bowling enthusiasts. Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada treated the Hampshire Bowl to a stunning bowling display in slightly helpful conditions. It was a much awaited coming together of these two exciting young fast bowlers, who tend to rise above the conditions with their pace and their skill.Which one is the better bowler? People debated it all day. At ESPNcricinfo we ran a poll on our Live Report for the game. Implicit in the question is: which of them is the best bowler in the world across the longer two formats, with T20 being more a franchise sport than an international one?Quietly, 84 miles north-east of the Hampshire Bowl, at The Oval, another fast bowler became the second fastest to 150 ODI wickets. Since he made his debut, only Imran Tahir has taken more ODI wickets, and Tahir doesn’t have the additional job of playing Tests.ALSO READ: Boult and Southee: ‘Understanding each other away from cricket helps us on the field’ODIs are not even Trent Boult’s stronger format. He has 246 Test wickets to go with the 150 in ODIs. Since his debut in Tests, only Test specialists have taken more wickets than him. Boult averages under 28 in both formats. For sheer versatility, longevity and quality, he deserves to be in the conversation about the best international all-formats bowlers.
His biggest strength might be his fitness. James Anderson and Stuart Broad are the only two fast bowlers to have bowled more international overs than him since his debut. He has missed only three Tests since his first match. It is a period in which some of the best all-formats bowlers – Anderson, Broad, R Ashwin – have been reduced to just one format. Especially given the white ball has offered fast bowlers nothing since the last World Cup.”It is tricky,” Boult says of bowling in ODIs. “It is kind of tailor-made for big scores and targets being chased down. The addition of new balls from each end has been nice, I suppose, but they haven’t been swinging of late. That has been the biggest challenge where I am coming from.ALSO READ: ‘If in doubt, be aggressive’: Boult on his first World Cup”New Zealand is a tricky place to play. Quite small grounds. On the flip side, I can be aggressive and go for wickets. Enjoying the format. To be here and to experience the World Cup is always exciting.”Two new balls sounds good in theory, but they don’t swing at the top of the innings, and also, reverse swing is eliminated. “Any kind of reverse in the end can help,” Boult says. “Margin of error becomes bigger and the hitting zone becomes small. I’d like to see one ball in ODI cricket, to be honest.”And yet, he is the most successful ODI fast bowler over the period, level with Rabada, in fewer games and at a better average and strike rate. It is easy to look at Boult’s style of bowling and say he needs favourable conditions to succeed, but he doesn’t. He finds a way. He uses bouncers well, he is accurate, and if there is reverse to be had, he gets every bit of it. And to think he was a red-ball specialist before the last World Cup.This is not to put Rabada and Bumrah down. Fitness and form permitting, they will probably end up with better careers than Boult’s. Add Pat Cummins and we might be looking at the golden trio of pace bowling of today and the next few years. Right now, though, looking at the last cycle, Boult, 29, is asking you to hold his beer; he will want to have a say in the next few years to come.ALSO READ: ‘Glossier balls offering more swing in World Cup’ – Trent BoultThen there is Mitchell Starc, who has now pushed Boult down to third on the list of those fastest to 150, getting there faster than anyone on Thursday. He too has an impressive record in Tests; it’s just that he doesn’t have the same body of work as Boult because of fitness issues.And yet Boult’s name doesn’t always roll off the tongue effortlessly when talking of the best bowlers today. You tell him that and he says, without rancour, “You can talk about me if you want.”I don’t really care to be honest,” he says. “I just want to win games for New Zealand and enjoy moments like this, and enjoy playing cricket for my country and enjoy representing what my team and I stand for. I am not too bothered if I am in the news or not but I definitely love going out there and swinging the ball around and trying to get guys out.”To get to 150 wickets in the time he has done is “pretty cool”. “Nice to come off the field and get the tap on the back and be recognised a little bit in the hutch,” Boult says. “Hopefully there are a few more left in the tank, but nice to be up there with some quality bowlers.”The World Cup then might be the ideal stage for that recognition to spread out of the hutch too.
