Trent Alexander Boult (born 22 July 1989) is a former New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who represented the

New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. ...

in all formats between 2011 and 2024. He continues to play in various

Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

leagues around the globe as a

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...

. Boult was a key member of the New Zealand team that won the

2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship The 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship was the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship of Test cricket. It started on 1 August 2019 with the 2019 Ashes series#First Test, first Test of the 2019 Ashes series, and finished with t ...

. He was also a part of the New Zealand squads to finish as runners-up in two Cricket World Cup finals in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. He is a left-arm fast-medium bowler and a right-handed batsman, Boult made his Test debut for New Zealand in December 2011 and his One Day International debut the following July. He was the joint leading wicket taker at the

2015 Cricket World Cup The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...

. In November 2018, he became the third bowler for New Zealand to take a hat-trick in ODIs, while in June 2019, Boult became the first bowler for New Zealand to take a hat-trick in the

Cricket World Cup The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial world cup for cricket in One Day International (ODI) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is one of the world's most viewed sporting events and consid ...

Early life and family

Boult was born in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

in 1989. He grew up in

Ōhope Ōhope is a coastal town situated on the northeastern coast of the Eastern Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. It is six kilometres east of Whakatāne, and is located between Ōhiwa Harbour to the south and Ōhope Beach to the north ...

and

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

, and was educated at

Otumoetai College Otumoetai College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Tauranga, New Zealand. The school opened in February 1965 with 206 students from years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) to serve the western suburbs of Tauranga. ''Otumoetai'' is cla ...

. He is the younger brother of cricketer Jono Boult. Of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent, Boult affiliates to the

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...

and

Ngāi Te Rangi Ngāi Te Rangi or Ngāiterangi is a Māori iwi, based in Tauranga, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends to Mayor Island / Tūhua and Bowentown in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, south of Te Puke and to Maketu in the east. ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. Trent announced his engagement to partner Gert Smith in June 2016, and the couple married in August 2017 in a private ceremony at Kauri Bay Boomrock. They have three sons , and live in

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of Tauranga located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harb ...

Cricket career

Domestic and T20 franchise career

In 2015, Boult was New Zealand's leading wicket taker at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Following the tournament, Boult received a Maiden call-up into the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

by the

Sunrisers Hyderabad The Sunrisers Hyderabad, also known as SRH, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun Group and was found ...

and he was purchased for $600,000. In February 2017, he was bought by the

Kolkata Knight Riders The Kolkata Knight Riders, also known as KKR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Kolkata, West Bengal, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and ...

team for the

2017 Indian Premier League The 2017 Indian Premier League season (also known as IPL 10 and branded as Vivo IPL 2017) was the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI ...

for 5

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

s. He also played for

Delhi Capitals The Delhi Capitals, formerly the Delhi Daredevils, also known as DC, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Delhi that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports. Its home groun ...

from

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

in the IPL. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Toronto Nationals franchise team in the

2019 Global T20 Canada The 2019 Global T20 Canada was the second edition of the Global T20 Canada, a professional Twenty20 cricket tournament that was played at the CAA Centre, Brampton in Ontario, Canada. It started on 25 July 2019, and concluded with the final on ...

tournament. Boult was traded by Delhi to the

Mumbai Indians The Mumbai Indians are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Indians were founded in 2008 and are owned by India's largest Conglomerate (company), co ...

prior to the thirteenth season of the IPL. He played a critical role in Mumbai winning the

2020 IPL The 2020 Indian Premier League (also known as IPL 13 and branded as Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020) was the thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket (T20) league established by the Board of Control for ...

title. He was the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in the final and was also named the player of the season. Boult claimed 25 wickets in that edition of the IPL and was the third highest wicket taker after

Kagiso Rabada Kagiso Rabada (born 25 May 1995) is a South African international cricketer who plays all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He made his international debut in November 2014 in limited-overs cricket before going on to make his ...

and

Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah (; born 6 December 1993) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the national team in all formats of the game and has captained India in Tests and T20Is. A right-arm fast bowler, Bumrah plays for Gujarat in domestic cri ...

. He also bowled 4 maiden overs, the most by any player in a single season of IPL. His best bowling figures in the IPL are 4/18 against

Chennai Super Kings The Chennai Super Kings, also known as CSK, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of the eight debut franchises when the league was establ ...

(on 23 October 2020). In the 2022 IPL auction, Boult was bought by the

Rajasthan Royals The Rajasthan Royals, also known as RR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight franchises, the team is owned by Manoj ...

. On 2024 November, he was bought by

in the 2025 IPL player-auctions.

International career

Boult accompanied the New Zealand A team on their winter training tour in 2007. On 9 February 2007, he took two wickets for 28 runs and scored seven not out against India's Under-19 team. He then travelled to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

in February 2008 for the Under-19 World Cup. On 21 January 2009, Boult was selected for the New Zealand squad for the one-day series against Australia at just 19 years of age. Boult only managed to play in the warm up game against the Prime Minister's XI and went wicketless off seven overs. During the tour Boult was clocked as the fastest bowler touring with the New Zealand team with a highest speed of . Boult made his Test debut in the 2011–12 season, in the Second Test against Australia in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, in a match won by New Zealand by 7 runs, New Zealand's first test win in Australia since 1985 and their first test win over Australia since 1993. He took four wickets in the match; additionally, he scored 21 runs in a tenth-wicket partnership with

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

in the second innings. In 2012, Boult produced a string of strong performances with the ball against the West Indies, India and Sri Lanka to consolidate his position as

Tim Southee Timothy Grant Southee (born 11 December 1988), is a former New Zealand international cricketer who has captained New Zealand cricket team in all formats of the game. He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler and a hard-hitting lower order batsman. ...

's new ball partner. He carried this good form into 2013 when he took 19 wickets in 5 tests against England, including his best test match innings bowling figures of 6/68 at Eden Park in March. After suffering a side strain during New Zealand's final test match against England at Leeds, Boult returned to the New Zealand test side for a two test tour of Bangladesh. Boult struggled in the hot and dry conditions, taking just 3 wickets and frequently straying with his accuracy. However, when back in home conditions against the touring West Indies, Boult swiftly returned to his best. In the second test at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve, also known as the Cello Basin Reserve for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the Basin, is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It is used for Test cricket, Test matches, and is the main home ground of t ...

Boult won man of the match award, after taking career best figures of 10 for 80 and completing a brilliant one-handed diving catch to his left to dismiss

Denesh Ramdin Denesh Ramdin (born 13 March 1985) is a former Trinidadian cricketer who played as a right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman. Ramdin formerly captained the West Indies, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Trinidad and Tobago and the Combined Campuses and Colleg ...

. In the first innings of the second test on the same venue against India, Boult made another one-handed diving right-handed catch to dismiss

Ajinkya Rahane Ajinkya Rahane (born 6 June 1988) is an Indian cricketer and former Indian captain in all formats and former vice-captain of the Indian team in Test cricket, who has played for Indian cricket team in all formats as a batsman. He currently capta ...

. He also had bowling figures of 4 for 146. In 2014 T20 series against West Indies, Boult's squad number switched from 8 to 18, a number previously worn by

Mathew Sinclair Mathew Stuart Sinclair (born 9 November 1975) is a former Australian-born New Zealand cricketer. He is a right-handed middle order batsman who has also opened the innings. He holds the equal world record for the highest Test score (214) by a nu ...

. In the Trans-Tasman trophy 2015–16 series, in Australia, in the third Test, the first ever day-night test in history, Boult became the first New Zealander and second overall after

Josh Hazlewood Josh Reginald Hazlewood (born 8 January 1991) is an Australian international cricketer. He is a pace bowler known for his accuracy and has been compared to former Australian paceman Glenn McGrath. He has captained Australia in a ODI and served ...

, to take a five-wicket haul in a day-night test. However, Australia won the day-night match by 3 wickets. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2015 World Cup by the ICC. In 2018, Boult produced his best figures in Test cricket, taking 6/32 in the First Test against England in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. England were bowled out for 58 in their first innings and New Zealand went on to win the Test by an innings and 49 runs. New Zealand went on the win series 1–0; Boult finished with 15 wickets at an average of 18.33 and was named man of the series. At the NZC Annual Awards, he received the Men's Test Player of the Year and the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for best International player of the year. In May that year, Boult was one of twenty players to be awarded a new contract for the 2018–19 season by

New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New ...

. In the fourth ODI of India's 2018–19 New Zealand tour, Boult claimed his fifth five-wicket haul, the joint-most for a New Zealand bowler alongside

Richard Hadlee Sir Richard John Hadlee (born 3 July 1951) is a New Zealand former cricketer. Hadlee is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, and amongst the very finest fast bowlers. Hadlee was appointed an MBE in the 1 ...

. He returned figures of 5/21 helping his team dismiss India for their lowest total in ODIs since 2010. New Zealand went on record one of their biggest wins and Boult was named man of the match. In April 2019, he was named in New Zealand's squad for the

2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament was hosted bet ...

. On 5 June 2019, in the match against

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, Boult took his 150th wicket in ODIs. On 29 June 2019, in the match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Boult took the second

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

of the World Cup. He was the first bowler for New Zealand to take a hat-trick at the Cricket World Cup. In August 2021, Boult was named in New Zealand's squad for the

2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the seventh edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, a Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place from 17 October to 14 November 2021. The tournament was hosted by Unit ...

. He helped his team reach the finals, taking 13 wickets for New Zealand, the highest for his team. In January 2022, in the second match against Bangladesh, Boult took his 300th wicket in Test cricket. In May 2024, he was named in New Zealand’s squad for the

2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, co-hosted by Cricket West Indies and USA Cricket from 1 to 29 June 2024. It was the first major ICC tournament to include matches played in the United ...

tournament. He retired from international cricket after New Zealand was knocked out in the group stage of the tournament.

Bowling and fielding style

Boult is a left-arm fast-medium swing bowler who makes up for his relative lack of height with deceptive pace of approximately 140 km/h and ability to swing the ball both ways with different variations. Boult's primary weapon is an

inswinger An inswinger is a type of delivery (cricket), delivery of the cricket ball, ball in the sport of cricket. In such a delivery the ball curves—or "swings"—in toward the batting (cricket), batter's body and the wicket. By contrast, an outswinger ...

to a right-handed batsman. Unsurprisingly, his childhood cricketing hero is

Wasim Akram Wasim Akram (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, Coach (sport), coach, and former cricketer and captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the ...

. In 2013, in a radio interview, former New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney rated Boult as New Zealand's best bowling discovery since

Shane Bond Shane Edward Bond (born 7 June 1975) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer and present bowling coach of Rajasthan Royals, described as "New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee", and often among the greatest fast b ...

. He is also known to haul in one-handed catches with either hand. In 2014, he became the 4th test bowler since

and

Iain O'Brien Iain Edward O'Brien (born 10 July 1976) is a former New Zealand cricket team, New Zealand cricketer, who played 22 Tests, 10 ODIs and 4 T20Is. A pace bowling, pace bowler, he took 73 test wickets with best figures of 6 for 75 against West Indi ...

to claim 30+ wickets in consecutive years. He has developed a good opening bowling partnership with

, having taken 46% of all wickets between them since 2013, especially since the retirement of Martin. In Tests, they are ably complemented by

Neil Wagner Neil Wagner (born 13 March 1986) is a New Zealand former Test cricketer who played for New Zealand and Northern Districts cricket teams. He played for Northerns until 2007/08 and Otago between 2008 and 2018. Wagner was a member of the New Zea ...

's short left-arm seam deliveries. In August 2019, in the series against Sri Lanka, Boult became the third bowler for New Zealand to take 250 wickets in Test cricket.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boult, Trent 1989 births Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup Delhi Capitals cricketers Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers Living people New Zealand cricketers New Zealand Māori sportspeople New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers Ngāi Tahu people Ngāi Te Rangi people Ngāti Porou people Northern Districts cricketers One Day International hat-trick takers People educated at Otumoetai College Sportspeople from Rotorua Sunrisers Hyderabad cricketers New Zealand expatriate cricketers in India Mumbai Indians cricketers Rajasthan Royals cricketers MI Cape Town cricketers