New Zealand head coach Gary Stead says Trent Boult unlikely to face England in Test series - but seamer is not ruling himself out of playing in second game at Edgbaston; Devon Conway in contention to open the batting for Black Caps in first Test at Lord's
Tuesday 1 June 2021 10:58, UK
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead says seamer Trent Boult is unlikely to figure in the Test series against England, with the Black Caps focusing on getting him ready for the World Test Championship final against India.
Left-armer Boult will definitely miss the first Test against England at Lord's from Wednesday as he will only arrive in the country midway through that game and Stead says he will probably sit out the second Test at Edgbaston, too, before returning against India in Southampton from June 18.
Boult returned home to New Zealand after the suspension of the Indian Premier League, at which he was playing for Mumbai Indians, in order to quarantine and spend time with his family.
Stead told reporters: "I don't think you'll see Trent in the two Test matches here. Our planning and what we're looking at doing with Trent is having him ready for the World Test Championship final.
"He has had a week of bowling over there which has been great after the fair amount of isolation time at the end of the IPL."
However, Boult - who has taken 281 wickets in 71 Tests, the fourth highest tally by a New Zealander - hopes he can put himself in contention for the fixture at Edgbaston from June 10.
"Hopefully I can get over there and be part of that second Test," said the 31-year-old.
"Once I smell that English fresh air and see the Dukes ball move about, I'll definitely be excited."
Stead indicated that Devon Conway, who is uncapped at Test level, could open the batting in the first Test.
The South Africa-born batsman has scored one hundred and one fifty in three one-day internationals and four half-centuries in 14 T20 internationals, averaging 75 in ODIs and 59.12 in T20Is.
Stead said: "We will disclose that when we get to the morning of the game but Conway has been one guy we've looked at who is certainly an option at the top for us.
"We've also got other guys who have done a great job for us in Tom Blundell and Will Young, as well. So it's a luxurious position to be in a little bit when you've got some of the resources that we've got at the moment."
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor hopes the insight he gained on Stuart Broad during a county stint at Nottinghamshire in 2018 can be beneficial against England over the coming weeks.
Broad's 10 dismissals of Taylor in 16 matches are the most by any bowler against the veteran New Zealand batsman in Tests.
The 37-year-old said of Broad: "I had the fortune to play with him at Notts and saw the way he went about things.
"I heard him talking to bowlers and I asked him a few questions. I wish I had that knowledge up my sleeve before a few more of those series.
"He has obviously got me out a few times, as most bowlers have, but he's a very good bowler along with Jimmy Anderson and the rest of them. With the Dukes in hand they're world-class bowlers in any conditions."
Watch the first Test between England and New Zealand, at Lord's, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Wednesday.
