Trent Boult backs the five-day format of Test cricket

New Zealand only needs a draw to wrap up the Test series against the West Indies.

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult | Getty Images

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult, on Sunday, said he has backed the five-day format of Test cricket, claiming the implementation of four-day matches in the brand of Test cricket is not necessary to make it more aggressive or succeed in the long-run.

As the International Cricket Council carrying out four-day tests format until the 2019 World Cup, the inaugural four-day Test is scheduled to play between South Africa and Zimbabwe on December 26.

Speaking to stuff.co.nz, Trent Boult said, “I love Test cricket, so I’d love to see it stay as it always has. In terms of shortening it to let it become more aggressive, I don’t think there’s any need. There’s other formats for that sort of thing. You want to have an even competition or contest between bat and ball.”

He further added, “There’s some good wickets going around at the moment and the balls aren’t moving, so that’s what I’d love to see [a contest] - I wouldn’t want it any shorter to encourage aggression.”

With hosts won the first Test in Wellington, which has been wrapped up inside four days of the ongoing two-match Test series between New Zealand and the West Indies, now New Zealand has been enjoyed their dominance in the second Test the, as they were bowled out for 373 in their first innings. Then, the Black Caps bowled out the West Indies for 221 in their first innings and declared at 291/8 in their second innings and set a target of 444 to level the series to Windies.

Although, the hosts New Zealand only need a draw to wrap up the Test series against the touring side and when asked if the Windies had shown a lack of application with the bat, Boult replied, “I can’t talk on behalf of their batsmen but I can tell you for free that they are probably not very happy with being eight down. That’s Test cricket - you can put pressure on the best players in the world and they can fail. From our point of view, we are just trying to be as accurate as we can, build enough pressure.”

The Kiwi pacer has scored an unbeaten 37 and shared a 61 runs partnership for the 10th wicket with fellow pacer Tim Southee as well as took 4 wickets in Hamilton. On being asked about his batting performance, Trent concluded by saying, “Believe it or not, I take a lot of pride in my batting. Any contribution, not just from myself but the lower order, is very pivotal. In terms of the game, the first innings is the one where we want to go big and get as many on the board as we can. A combination of runs as well as keeping their bowlers and fielders out there. As a bowler you know when the tail comes out and gets a few away, hits a few boundaries, it can become very frustrating.”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 11 Dec, 2017

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