India vs New Zealand: Trent Boult says Kane Williamson
going through 'tough time' as captain
New
Zealand seamer Trent Boult today said that it will be difficult to find a
charismatic leader like Brendon McCullum while admitting that current skipper
Kane Williamson is going "through pretty tough time" as a captain.
Asked
to compare the two, Boult gave an elaborate explanation.
New Zealand bowler Trent
Boult. AFP
"Kane
is a classy player and has been ranked as a top batsman for a reason. In a way,
he has had pretty tough time walking into the role of captaincy. It has been a
learning experience for the whole team to be honest. The way Brendon led the
team, I don't think anyone could do it as well as he did it. He set his own
tone, we all know what kind of explosive batsman, he is. But we are stacked up
with lot of quality players in the side and we need all of them to stand up and
put in good performance," Boult said.
While
he did not want to point fingers at any particular batsmen, he said that a
collective effort is needed from them after an indifferent tour so far.
"As
a unit, we are looking to get more runs. If we get more runs on the board, we
can put more scoreboard pressure on a good Indian side. I am not going to
single anyone out in terms of performance, but they should contribute with the
bat, bowl and in the field. Try and put in more energy," Boult said on the
eve of the second one-dayer at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium here tomorrow.
Boult
said that the quality of spin bowling that they encountered during the Test
series is something that they are not used to.
Asked
if Ravichandran Ashwin's effect is still bothering the Kiwi batsmen, Boult
said: "I am not too sure about that. Indians bowled well in Dharamsala to
start off. Especially their seamers. They set the tone, managed to get us down
to four in first 10 over. What the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja have done, we are
not used to in home conditions."
Boult
maintained that the mood in the camp is still upbeat despite failing to
register a win in the tour so far.
"Obviously
it hadn't gone as we have liked it to be. It's been a tough learning experience
in Test series and a severe defeat in Dharamsala, the other night. The mood in
the camp is positive and guys are looking forward to the challenge. Obviously
luxury, five-match series, you have four match up for grabs and opportunity to
right a few wrongs," he signed off.