Glossier ball swinging more: Boult

Taunton

New Zealand pace spearhead Trent Boult has attributed the low-scoring thrillers at the ongoing World Cup to the “glossier” Kookaburra balls which offer more swing, making the contest between bat and ball even. “The balls are actually different for this tournament. They’ve got a different gloss on them, they’re painted differently, so there’s definitely been a little bit more swing,” said Boult.

“Conditions have been good but I believe there should be that little period at the start of the game where it’s an even battle of bat vs ball, so it’s nice to see the ball moving like it is at the moment,” he added. “The white balls have been quite prominent, you can see the quarter seams and everything with the ball, but it’s fully covered now. It’s nice to hold in the hand and it’s moving a little bit, so I’m very happy,” he added.

The use of two new balls for each innings has robbed pacers the chance to go for reverse-swing due to the lack of sufficient wear and tear. “I’d love to see (just) one ball in the ODI cricket to be honest,” said Boult. New Zealand will face Afghanistan on Saturday and Boult said his team will treat their opponents with respect.

Shahzad out of World Cup

London: Afghanistan opener Mohammad Shahzad will miss the rest of the World Cup after suffering a knee injury. Wicketkeeper-batsman Shahzad will be replaced by Ikram Ali Khil in a blow to the World Cup minnows, who have lost their opening two matches. The 32-year-old scored just seven runs against Australia and Sri Lanka before the injury curtailed his tournament. Shahzad had retired hurt after suffering a knee injury in Afghanistan’s warm-up fixture against Pakistan. While he featured in their opening games against Australia and Sri Lanka, the aggravated injury has ruled him out of the rest of the competition. — Agencies

NZ vs Afg in World Cup

Matches: 1

New Zealand won: 1

Afghanistan won: 0

Form guide

New Zealand: WWWWW

Afghanistan: LLWLW

(L=lost W=won; Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Pitch and conditions

High-scoring venue with short straight boundaries. Morning showers expected

299 Average first innings score in the last five completed List-A matches at Taunton. Teams batting first have won thrice and pacers have done the heavy duty in the ten innings, bowling 287.2 overs as opposed to just 102 from the spinners