Boult set to miss second test
A concerned coach Gary Stead has all but ruled Trent Boult out of Friday’s second cricket test as the Black Caps await a diagnosis on their pace spearhead’s injury.
But whether his most likely replacement, Lockie Ferguson, comes in for his long-awaited test debut won’t be known until after they inspect the Seddon Park pitch.
Boult underwent a scan yesterday on the rib injury that forced him off the field after bowling just one over on day five of New Zealand’s innings and 65-run win over England at Mt Maunganui.
Results won’t be known until today, Black Caps medical staff said, but already there was concern around Boult who suffered soreness in his ribs on his right side after England’s first innings. After treatment before play it flared up again on Monday.
‘‘At the moment it seems unlikely [that he’ll play in Hamilton], given how sore he was yesterday,’’ Stead said yesterday.
Should Boult be ruled out as expected, it will be the first test he has missed since Wellington, against South Africa in 2017 – incidentally New Zealand’s most recent home defeat.
Stead agreed there was no need to risk Boult at Hamilton with bigger cricketing fish to fry across the Tasman.
The first of three tests against Australia is at Perth’s Optus Stadium on December 12, under lights with a pink ball, and Boult’s absence would be a major blow to their chances of starting the series with a rush.
‘‘It’s always a worry. You want the best for your players all the time and you don’t like seeing people sit out injured,’’ Stead said.
‘‘Trent’s
apretty
resilient character but I guess there are concerns about what will ultimately show up. It’s a new injury and he’s very sore.’’
While Matt Henry is a worthy option with the new ball to partner Tim Southee, it would be a major surprise if the country’s quickest bowler Ferguson isn’t unleashed after he appeared close to getting the nod at Bay Oval.
After Stead and Kane Williamson picked Boult, Southee and Neil Wagner who did a clinical job once again, Ferguson returned to Auckland in the Ford Trophy where he took 5-38 against Central Stags and 1-76 against Wellington on Monday.
‘‘We’ll have a look at the pitch in Hamilton. We’ve got a number of different options with Lockie and Matt Henry, but if it’s a dry wicket there’s potential to play two spinners [Mitchell Santner and Todd Astle].’’
Williamson, meanwhile, will lead New Zealand again after an injury scare of his own on the final afternoon at Bay Oval.
Already troubled by a right hip problem, Williamson picked up another niggle in the same region while fielding and was off the field as Wagner snared the final two England wickets.
‘‘He’s had treatment and he’ll be fine,’’ Stead said of Williamson.
BJ Watling has been damned with so much faint praise these past few days that he must be on the fast elevator down to hell. The 34-year-old keeper has been called New Zealand’s little battler, a gutsy grinder, dogged, bloody-minded, restrained, steadfast, tenacious and any other adjective that starts with dull. It is hopelessly unfair. Watling is one of the most brilliant cricketers of the modern age.
When I am talking about brilliance, I am referring to a brilliant mind. Watling’s powers of concentration are superhuman. His ability to read the rhythms of a game are nigh on perfect. He is a cricketer who builds beautiful relationships in an often selfish sport and destroys other teams.
Watling has scored eight test centuries in his career to date, seven as a keeper. Only Les Ames, Andy Flower and Adam Gilchrist, the greatest of them all, have scored more as a wicketkeeper. But it is the nature of Watling’s centuries that count. Six of them have led to victory, two to a draw. His mind is at its keenest when it matters most.
To understand the value of Watling to this New Zealand side, it is worth looking at the renowned book Moneyball which looked at how statistical theory revolutionised baseball. While old baseball coaches swooned over the big sluggers, a geekwith-a-screen worked out that the guys with the highest on-base percentages was where the real value in the market lay.
This is Watling. He gets on base time and time again. And if on-base percentages are invaluable in baseball, then batting partnerships are invaluable in cricket.
Watling is the king of cricket’s ballroom. He is calm, he has humility, he blunts the bowlers and he runs like the clappers between the wickets. He makes the bloke at the other end feel like an alpha male. He is the perfect partner.
It is no coincidence that it was
‘‘Typical Watling. He’s the cricketer you don’t notice.’’
Watling who started Brendon McCullum on his way to the famous triple century. The score was 94-5 when Watling came to the wicket and India were all over New Zealand. The scene was set for McCullum, king biffer himself, to go out in a blaze of glory.
Watling batted for 367 balls for his 124 and introduced India to a feeling of despair. Together McCullum and Watling – and Watling is nearly always mentioned second in these dispatches – put on 352. From a position of near hopelessness, New Zealand drew.
But curiously that is not the highest partnership for New Zealand’s sixth wicket. That belongs to Kane Williamson and, let me see, oh yes, it’s Watling again. New Zealand were playing Sri Lanka and were 135 behind on first innings and 159-5 in their second when Watling came to the crease. The keeper scored 142 runs as he and Williamson put on an unbeaten 365 that set up