WTC Final: NZ in great place to create history, says Trent Boult

The qualification process for the World Test Championship final is still a bit of enigma for Trent Boult but the New Zealand pace spearhead is confident that his team is capable of creating history when it clashes with India for the inaugural title.

The WTC final is scheduled to be held in Southampton from June 18-22.

"The way the group has travelled and performed around New Zealand and the world, the boys are in a great place to hopefully create a bit of history," Boult told reporters at the Bay Oval.

"Everything is feeling good with what lies ahead, a big stage for the World Test Championship final, and hopefully I can get over there and be part of that second Test (against England) as well," he added.

"I've taken a while to understand the process with qualifying, how everything works with the points, still think no one knows how that actually works, but to get into that final the excitement is ramping up now," Boult said.

Talking about the Dukes ball, which will be used for the WTC final, the 31-year-old said: "I haven't had too much experience with it, played a handful of Tests over in England. It reacts a lot differently, then you have to weigh in all these different venues."

"I'm sure the boys are very excited to get it in their hands and see it move around. Hopefully we can entertain you a little bit over the next wee while."
Ahead of the WTC final, New Zealand take on hosts England for a two-match red-ball series.

Boult, who has snared 281 wickets in 71 Test, will be unavailable for the first Test as he has opted to spend time with his family after the suspension of the IPL mid-season.

However, the seamer, who will leave for the UK on Thursday, is hoping to be a part of the second fixture.

"Once I step foot in the UK, get that chance to smell the English fresh air and see the ball move around a little bit I'll definitely be excited," he added.

The left-arm seamer, who plays for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, is also optimistic about turning up for the second half of the currently-suspended T20 League in the UAE.

Last week, the BCCI approved the IPL's resumption in September in the UAE. The league was suspended last month after multiple cases of COVID-19 were reported inside the bio-bubble.

"Looks like it's moving forward to the UAE where it ran very nicely last year. So if I get the chance I'll be looking forward to finishing that campaign off nicely," Boult said.

"Things escalated pretty quickly over there. I was very grateful to get that opportunity in the IPL to play on that stage," he added.

New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Tim Seifert was one of the players to contract COVID-19 during the IPL.

"What happened to Tim was really unfortunate. The guy was feeling very upset. You can imagine it would be quite an isolating feeling being there not really knowing how you'll get home and when. It's the risk of taking on this job."

"I've loved India with the culture and fans over there, but it was a different gravy this time. It was very quiet around the streets compared to that usual hum of going into the stadiums with the fans. It was definitely different," Boult said.