Boult targets triumph in foreign conditions
Fast bowler Trent Boult is eager to succeed on Bangladesh pitches largely conducive to spin, come this month's two-Test series in Chittagong and Dhaka.
Fast bowler Trent Boult is eager to succeed on Bangladesh pitches largely conducive to spin, come this month's two-Test series in Chittagong and Dhaka.
Boult, who has taken 14 Test wickets at a tidy average of 27.35 on the sub-continent, has been named in a 15-man touring party alongside fellow seamers Neil Wagner, Doug Bracewell, Corey Anderson and Mark Gillespie.
The inexperienced Bruce Martin and uncapped Ish Sodhi are the two specialist spinners. All-rounder Daniel Vettori and batsman Martin Guptill were not considered due to injury. The talented Tim Southee might join the tour belatedly – if he recovers fully from ankle surgery.
"It's tough for the fast bowlers to get success in these conditions but I have a bit of success in this part of the world. My plan is to swing the new ball as much as I can. I will also look to reverse swing the ball later in the innings," said Boult.
"I just want to do my job and hope I could take as much wickets I can, I haven't targeted anyone. I just want to lead the attack, and take wickets. And hopefully, the conditions will suit me."
Coach Mike Hesson, meanwhile, has welcomed the team's stint in Sri Lanka, where the batsmen prepared to combat the opposition's slew of slow bowlers in conditions expected to prove low and slow.
"We have spent nine days in Sri Lanka before arriving here and we faced many spinners, we are well aware about the spinners in Bangladesh. We know we have to face couple of left-arm spinners and also we have to face Sohag Gazi and couple of off-spinners," added Hesson.
The series opener will get underway at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on 9 October. The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium will host the second and final fixture.
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