Trent Boult enters league of legends following his 100th ODI for New Zealand

The New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult celebrated his 100th ODI appearance at the Ageas Bowl on September 10 which marked his remarkable journey since his debut on the West Indies tour eleven years ago. Boult’s career statistics showcases his status as one of the finest bowlers in modern-day limited-overs cricket. The star New Zealand player has become the 129th player to reach the milestone of 100 ODIs.

The New Zealand speedster is among the 18 New Zealanders who have already achieved this feat, there are seven batters, six all-rounders, and four fast bowlers who have done it prior. Notably, his teammates Tim Southee and Tom Latham were playing their 156th and 132nd ODIs respectively, highlighting Boult’s longevity in the format.

Boult also made this milestone even more special as he delivered a remarkable opening spell against England where the speedster wreaked havocs on their top order. The left arm bowler claimed three wickets while conceding just one run from his first 14 balls, dismissing Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root within three balls and then removing Ben Stokes for one. With these wickets, Boult increased his overall ODI wicket tally to 190, maintaining an impressive average of 23.68.

Boult has also maintained an economy rate of 4.93 per over and has recorded five five-wicket hauls in ODIs. His first two ODI wickets came on his debut against the West Indies, where he dismissed Johnson Charles just eight balls into his ODI career and took the last wicket of the innings by dismissing Ravi Rampaul. As we generally compare Boult to other New Zealand bowlers, his statistics reflect his exceptional class.

Although Boult is over 100 wickets behind Daniel Vettori’s New Zealand record, he boasts a better average than the five bowlers ranked above him on the list. The nearest to Boult’s average is Kyle Mills with 27.02, almost four runs higher per wicket than Boult. In the list of the top thirty leading ODI wicket-takers for New Zealand, only Richard Hadlee and Shane Bond have lower averages than Boult. His strike rate is also remarkable, with a rate of 28.9, the lowest among New Zealand bowlers with 100 wickets, with Bond being the only other bowler to take wickets at less than 30 balls per wicket.

Boult has also taken the second-most World Cup wickets

Comparing his performance to his peers, Boult’s record stands out. Only Mitchell Starc has taken more wickets (210) since Boult’s debut, while Tim Southee, the next-highest New Zealand wicket-taker, lags behind by 53 wickets. When considering pace bowlers alone, only four others have taken over 150 wickets since Boult’s ODI debut (Starc, Mohammad Shami, Jason Holder, and Chris Woakes). Boult outshines the others in terms of average and strike rate and has as many five-wicket hauls as the other three combined.

Boult has also taken the second-most World Cup wickets (39) since the 2011 tournament. However, he shares the top spot with Mitchell Starc, as they jointly led the wickets chart in the 2015 edition. While Boult may not currently hold a central contract and his international appearances have become sporadic, his numbers affirm his status as one of the foremost fast bowlers in the modern era and one of New Zealand’s all-time greats.