Senior New Zealand pacer Trent Boult is appearing to regain full fitness ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia as he bowled against his own team mates in a warm-up match ahead of the second rubber.
Boult — Kiwis’ pace spearhead — had picked up a rib injury and could not play the first match under lights at Perth as Australia thrashed them by 296 runs.
“I was a proud representative of Victoria yesterday. It was good fun and nice to get some overs under my belt, field for a bit, and get some time in my legs,” Boult was quoted as saying by www.stuff.co.nz on Monday.
“It’s all going well, I feel like I’ve ticked the right boxes in terms of my rehab and preparations, and I’m looking forward to getting out there.
“It was more about rhythm and loading from my point of view,” Boult added.
He took the wicket of New Zealand opener Tom Latham during the practice game.
Meanwhile, Tom Blundell is all set to open for New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) after replacing Jeet Raval.
Latham said Boult would return with the team trailing the three-match series 1-0 ahead of tests in Melbourne and Sydney.
“Boulty is tracking pretty well and he was running in pretty hard,” Latham said.
“He was his usual self in the nets the other day, bouncing around, which is a good sign. It’s great to have the quality of Trent come back into the side.”
Boult added that he had to stave off some mental barriers ahead of his comeback and it would be a timely boost for the Black Caps with the MCG curator predicting the Boxing Day pitch will be lively.
“Anyone will tell you coming back from injury, there’s a few psychological walls you need to break through,” he said.
“I’ve played 60-odd tests, so I understand what’s needed for fitness.”