World No. 1 ODI and World No. 11 Test bowler Trent Boult has lowered his chances down of national selection after being released from central contract by New Zealand Cricket (NZC). Boult had requested to be released from the contract to spend some more time with his family and be available for domestic leagues and after several conversation NZC has agreed to his move.
Black Caps in a release stated that Boult will complete the West Indies tour (of three ODIs and as many T20Is) as scheduled he will have a ‘significantly reduced’ role for New Zealand in the evening of his career. NZC in a statement said that Boult had made it clear that he wished to spend more time with family as his hunger for touring, especially has come down several notches.
“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 Black Caps over the past 12 years.
“Ultimately this decision is about my wife Gert and our three young boys. Family has always been the biggest motivator for me and I feel comfortable with putting it first and preparing ourselves for life after cricket,” Boult said in an NZC statement.
The 33-year-old said that as a fast bowler, he knows that he has a limited career span and felt it is the right time to move into the next phase but mentioned that he still has the desire to represent New Zealand at the international level.
“I still have a big desire to represent my country and feel I have the skills to deliver at the international level. However, I respect the fact that not having a national contract will affect my chances of selection,” he further said.
NZC chief executive David White said that they respected Boult decision while saying that they wished him best for the next phase of his career while admitting that they were sad to be losing him as a fully contracted player. “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,” White said.
Boult, who last was seen in the Test series against England immediately after a long 16-game IPL season with the Rajasthan Royals, has been one of the best all-format bowlers in the world and has represented the Black Caps in 78 Tests, 93 ODIs and 44 T20Is taking 317, 169 and 62 wickets respectively.
