England vs New Zealand: Records which Trent Boult can break
New Zealand and England are set to lock horns in the first Test of two-match series, starting June 2 at Lord's. Thereafter, the Kiwis will participate in the ICC World Test Championship final against India. Their two front-line fast bowlers, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, would want to make the most of the conditions. Here are the records Boult can break in England.
Boult is one of the most proficient left-arm fast bowlers of this decade. His ability to swing the ball both ways makes him a lethal bowler. The New Zealand pace spearhead has snapped up 281 wickets from 71 Tests at an average of 28.02. Boult has registered 8 five-wicket hauls and one haul of 10 wickets. He owns career-best bowling figures of 10/80.
At present, Boult is New Zealand's fourth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. He is only behind Richard Hadlee (431), Daniel Vettori (362), and Tim Southee (302) on the list. Even if Boult plays two out of three Tests in England, he could become the fourth bowler from New Zealand to touch the 300-wicket mark. He requires 19 scalps to achieve this feat.
Boult, who presently has 71 Test caps, will likely become the second-fastest New Zealand bowler to take 300 Test wickets. Notably, Hadlee leads the list at the moment (61 Tests), and is followed by Southee (76).
Boult has picked up 48 wickets from 10 Tests against England at an average of 24.68. His tally is the joint-third-most after Hadlee (97) and Southee (50). During this tour, the former could become the third NZ bowler with 50 or more wickets against England. He already has the joint second-most five-fors against them (4), along with Chris Cairns. He can overcome his tally.
Boult is on the verge of completing 500 wickets in international cricket. As of now, the left-arm pacer has taken 496 wickets from 198 matches across formats at an average of 26.63. This includes 13 five-wicket hauls. He will become only the fourth NZ bowler to take 500 or more international scalps after Vettori (705), Southee (591), and Hadlee (589).
