New Zealand spearhead Trent Boult has confirmed that he is playing his final T20 World Cup. One of the finest exponents of new-ball swing from the archipelago, Boult has snapped up 81 wickets in 60 T20Is at an economy of 7.76. He was NZ’s leading wicket-taker in the 2014 and 2021 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Lightning 𝘽𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙩 of New Zealand ⚡
Thank you for all the #T20WorldCup memories, Trent ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9S7thsRqxz
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 17, 2024
“Speaking on behalf of myself, this will be my last T20 World Cup, so yeah that’s all I have to say,” Boult said after the Blackcaps drubbed Uganda by nine wickets in Trinidad.
Boult, who had requested to be released from New Zealand’s central contract back in 2022, went on to partake in all the white-ball ICC tournaments since, including the ODI World Cup in 2023 and T20 World Cups in 2022 and 2024. He couldn’t come to his team’s rescue this time around as it was the first time New Zealand failed to reach the semi finals of a white-ball ICC World Cup since 2014.
“I think in T20 cricket anything can happen. We’re devastated to not qualify. We’ve been outplayed earlier in the tournament and, we haven’t qualified for good reason so it’s unfortunate but that’s how T20 cricket goes,” Boult reasoned.
New Zealand will conclude their T20 World Cup campaign on June 17 against PNG at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad.
