Trent Boult confirms ongoing T20 World Cup will be his last

New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult has confirmed that the ongoing T20 World Cup will be his last.

Boult, who has taken 81 wickets in 60 T20I matches at an economy rate of 7.76, expressed this after New Zealand's nine-wicket victory over Uganda in Trinidad.

"Speaking on behalf of myself, this will be my last T20 World Cup, so yeah that's all I have to say," Boult said.

Despite his request to be released from the central contract in 2022, Boult has continued to play in ICC white-ball tournaments, including the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups. However, New Zealand's current T20 World Cup campaign has ended prematurely, marking their first failure to reach the semifinals since 2014.

"I think T20 cricket anything can happen. We're devastated to not qualify. We've been outplayed earlier in the tournament and, we haven't qualified for good reason so it's unfortunate but that's how T20 cricket goes," Boult said.

Reflecting on his journey, Boult cherished his partnership with Tim Southee, highlighting their camaraderie both on and off the field.

"I look at it with very fond memories. We bowled a lot of overs together. I know the partnership very well, and obviously a very good friend on and off the ground. So yeah, nice to wind back the clock a little bit and see a bit of swing bowling at the top. Hopefully, a couple more still to come," he said.

"It's a hard one to forecast. Like I said there's a lot of pride in the dressing room and playing for the country. We've had some great records across the however many years and it's something that we don't look at too much," he added.

Looking ahead, Boult expressed confidence in New Zealand's cricketing talent and the team's future prospects.

"I think there's still some tremendous talent inside that dressing room and coming through the ranks in New Zealand cricket. So, we're a proud nation and I think it will continue to go that way," he said.

New Zealand will conclude their T20 World Cup journey on June 17 against PNG at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad.