Quantcast

Boult jumps to fourth in ODI rankings

New Zealand quick soars in the rankings, while the Windies have been dealt a blow ahead of the T20 series

New Zealand bowler Trent Boult's demolition job against the West Indies has secured him the fourth spot in the latest ICC ODI Rankings update.

Boult blitzed the tourists in this month's ODI-series clean sweep, securing 10 wickets in total and a career-best stint of 7-34 in the second match.

That's seen the left-arm paceman jump three places up the ODI bowling rankings, past Australians Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood and South Africa's Kagiso Rabada.

He finished last year as the top-ranked bowler in ODIs, a spot that will be held by Pakistan's Hasan Ali going into 2018.

The Northern Districts star's form hasn't gone unnoticed by coach Mike Hesson, who says his paceman is bowling as well as he did in the 2015 World Cup.

Windies capitulate in dramatic collapse

Hesson told reporters Boult's white-ball form was reminiscent of his cup efforts, in which he claimed 22 scalps and finished joint-top wicket-taker.

"He's got the ball swinging and in terms of the pace he's bowling at the moment, he's challenging the best players - that's what you want," Hesson said.

"He becomes a real threat for us, with the new ball or old."

Boult will be rested for the first two of his side's three Twenty20 matches against the West Indies, starting on Friday in Nelson.

Meanwhile, Windies Twenty20 specialist Kieron Pollard has withdrawn from the T20 series.

The 30-year-old Pollard, an allrounder who plies his trade in T20 tournaments around the world, has pulled out of the squad for personal reasons.

He'll be replaced by batsman Shimron Hetmyer, while paceman Sheldon Cotterell will slot in for the injured Ronsford Beaton.

Beaton has returned home with a side strain, but is also facing an illegal bowling charge after being reported in his side's ODI series loss.

Image Id: 41E8FEDBE459481483607C34283E7732