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Tuesday, 25 December 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Trent Boult is hoping to get back into the swing of things when he returns to a venue which holds good memories.
Boult is set to lead the Black Caps bowling attack once more in the second and final test against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval – where a win would give New Zealand another series victory.
After ripping through Pakistan in the first innings of the first test in Abu Dhabi, Boult hasn’t quite hit the same heights since, taking just five wickets at an average of 69.2 in his last six test innings with the ball.
Boult says he’s “pretty happy” with his pace, regularly getting above 140km/h in the first Sri Lankan test, but has been hoping to generate more swing.
“I’d like to see the ball swinging around a little bit more. It literally hasn’t swung bar the pink ball test. It hasn’t really swung around like it did in the olden days... since the World Cup. [But I’m] happy with the way it’s coming out, the rhythm, too, is relatively good, and I’m hoping for another big summer,” he told Martin Devlin on Newstalk ZB.
A return to Hagley Oval might prove what Boult needs to get back amongst the wickets, having taken the most of any player at the ground, with 28 scalps at an average of 24.42 leading to four victories in five tests.
To keep that solid record intact, he’ll need to break through Sri Lanka’s batting resistance, after they batted for over a day unbroken to earn a draw in the first test in Wellington.
“We need to find a way to get 20 wickets, that’s the beauty of test cricket, that’s the challenge.
“As a bowling unit, that’s what we’re always working on. We’re trying to find alternate ways to build pressure and get wickets.
“We know we’ve got the skills in the tank – the experience and the balance in the side there to cash in.” (Source: www.nzherald.co.nz)
