Pace bowling is tough work on slow tracks in the subcontinent. There is no movement on offer and the heat can get to you.
But the smart bowlers acquire the skills to be effective in these unhelpful conditions as well. Trent Boult is fine example. The bowlers from outside the subcontinent usually struggle more, but he is as skilful as any other pacer from the region.
The most effective pacers in these conditions come from Pakistan and India and their art lies in the wrist work. Boult is in their mould. Any deviation off the pitch can put off the best of batters. It’s about mastering the perfect wrist position and landing on the seam to generate that deviation. Then you add variations to your armoury and you are ready to bowl in these conditions. Boult has these skills. It is the reason he is in such high demand in the Indian Premier League.
The left-arm pacer had the confidence to turn into a freelancer, opting out of the central contract with the New Zealand Cricket. His record is such that he knows he is good enough to be picked in his national team for important tournaments while he makes solid money plying his trade in the T20 leagues around the world. And at 34, it makes great financial sense before he calls it a day.
In the 2015 World Cup, Boult finished as the joint leading wicket taker with 22 wickets in nine matches, in a tournament co-hosted by New Zealand, who were the runners-up.
He was again magnificent in the 2019 edition in the UK, taking 17 wickets and bowling the last over and the Super Over in the tied final against England, who were declared winners on a better boundary count. In the semi-final win over India at Old Trafford, Boult took the wicket of Virat Kohli.
He is at this World Cup again leading New Zealand’s bowling attack. His experience has been even more useful as Tim Southee is still recovering after suffering a fractured and dislocated thumb in the build-up to the tournament.
Friday proved special as Boult took two wickets against Bangladesh to reach the milestone of 200 ODI wickets, producing another masterful display in unresponsive conditions at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium in an eight-wicket win.
He set the tone for the game with a wicket off the first ball when Bangladesh’s in-form opening batter Litton Das flicked to fine-leg fielder Matt Henry. Pitched on the leg-stump, it looked an innocuous ball but the batter feeling the need to do something extra to unsettle Boult was an example of the pressure facing him brings.
His second wicket was a result of the clever use of the knuckle ball.
It deceived Towhid Hridoy into offering a simple catch in front of the wicket. Boult completing the milestone in 107 games made him the third fastest to the 200-wicket landmark, after Australia’s Mitchell Starc (102 matches) and Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq (104).
“Yeah, I’m very proud of it. It’s come with a bit of hard work and, you know, I’ve always enjoyed one-day cricket. There’s been days when it’s been a lot more successful than others, but very good feeling to tick off 200. It is pretty exciting,” Boult said. Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Chris Harris and Chris Cairns are the Kiwi bowlers to cross that milestone.
India’s own left-arm pacer, Zaheer Khan, had used the knuckle ball to superb effect in the 2011 World Cup, picking up key wickets with the old ball to lead India to the title. The opponents will be wary of Boult’s knuckle ball variation. He gets the batters to mistime because there’s no change in his arm speed. It was the second wicket the Kiwi pacer had got using the variation in this World Cup. Against England, in the tournament opener which New Zealand won by nine wickets, Liam Livingstone was prized out with the knuckle ball.
Boult said he has been working on perfecting the knuckle ball for about two-and-a-half years. “Yeah, practice. The old cliché,” Boult said after Friday’s game. “I touched on (it) with Athers (Michael Atherton) at the half-time break that I’ve been lucky enough to play with some decent bowlers over the years, and sharing secrets and asking questions is always the way forward. I think over here on good wickets you have to have a couple of balls up your sleeve that you can go to under pressure, and touchwood, it’s coming out all right; I enjoy bowling it.”
New Zealand’s win against Bangladesh was not just about Boult. It was achieved on the back of solid bowling as a unit. Showing the importance of piling pressure from both ends, the pace attack is looking lethal. Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson also delivered an inspired performance. The three shared seven of the nine wickets to fall.
Henry took two wickets while Ferguson rattled the Bangladesh batters with sheer pace, scalping three. It was a fine performance by a pace unit on a docile track in searing heat.