Boult lays claim to title of world’s best No 11

Trent Boult had some news for Tim Southee last night, and it was nothing to do with their respective bowling numbers.

Tailender Boult’s unbeaten 37 off 27 balls against the West Indies at Seddon Park yesterday lifted his test average at No 11 to 16.96 — and that tops Southee’s overall average of 16.81. An opportunity for a bit of gentle ribbing, for sure.

Boult played a range of outrageous and exotic shots yesterday to frustrate the West Indies, as they shared a 61-run 10th wicket stand.

Southee was last man out for 31. Both hit a pair of sixes and Boult’s ability to get into curious positions, yet still get the ball away for runs, stands him out among the world’s best No 11 batsmen — and certainly the most inventive.

Clearly his hand-eye coordination is special, his golf talents as a 6-handicapper would attest to that.

And like all bowlers, he takes a pride in his batting efforts. He has been No 11 in 46 of his 52 tests — no one went in after Chris Martin through his early matches, and Neil Wagner was at No 11 in Kanpur last year.

Boult has a test half century, 52 not out in Chittagong four years ago. It’s New Zealand’s second best score from No 11 after Richard Collinge’s epic 68 not out against Pakistan at Eden Park in 1973.

Boult shared a 137-run 10th wicket stand with BJ Watling that day, bat- ting 147 minutes and facing 137 balls. You don’t get to do that by luck.

Throw in four innings of 20-plus and perhaps there’s a case to support a tweeter’s question yesterday: Is he the world’s best ever No 11? It’s worth a thought.

“I take a lot of pride in my batting, believe it or not,” Boult said last night.

“Any contribution from the lower order is pivotal.”

He ramped a six over third man’s head yesterday, admitting then he didn’t know how to describe how he did it, other than “it’s a very highly premeditated shot but you try to make the most of the short areas. Good fun.”

Throw in an acrobatic one-handed return catch to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer, reminiscent of his terrific take to remove Australian Mitchell Marsh at the Basin Reserve early last year, and a couple of wickets and it was a good all round day for a player who quipped, perhaps half in jest, that maybe he should rate as an allrounder.