New Zealand’s head coach, Gary Stead, has defended two potentially divisive selection calls before the first Test against England on Thursday after opting against sending an SOS to Trent Boult and calling up the uncapped Scott Kuggeleijn.
A recurrence of the stress fracture that led to Kyle Jamieson missing the past seven months of cricket – plus seamer Matt Henry absent from the series opener on paternity leave – might have prompted the Black Caps to ask Boult about his availability. But while the 33-year-old left-armer lives 20 minutes from Bay Oval and is back from playing T20 cricket in the United Arab Emirates, his decision to turn down a New Zealand national contract and go freelance last August put paid to this notion.
