ICC World Cup 2019 | Got to remain aggressive against Virat Kohli, says Trent Boult

Trent Boult had given a fine display of seam bowling in the side’s first warm-up encounter against India at The Oval. The pacer returned with four wickets but failed to dismiss India skipper Virat Kohli, who got out to Colin de Grandhomme at a score of 18. The teams will be wary of the top-ranked batsman and will look to get him out early in the innings, as pointed out by Boult.

"Yeah, you got to remain aggressive against Virat and look to get him out because the mistake he makes are very few and far between. Doesn't look to give his wicket away. It is important to start well and put pressure on him early and make sure he is under pressure and doesn't get off to an easy start," said, reported IANS.

Apart from Virat Kohli, eyes will be on other star batsmen like Steve Smith, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler. However, Bould refused to single out one player as the best.

"They are all quality players and it will be unfair for me to say who is the best, but in the ODI format I feel things are placed nicely in favour of the batsmen and they have two hard new balls with the powerplays and all. It is set up for a lot of runs. From a bowling point of view you have to remain aggressive and get these players out because otherwise with their quality, they will look to cash in and score runs. It will be an interesting challenge and one that I am sure all bowlers are looking forward to," he expressed with a smile.

The 2017 Champions Trophy was also played in England and it registered high scores in most of the matches. Even in the recent series between the hosts and Pakistan, all the games witnessed scores well above 300. The pitches in the warm-up matches were covered in grass but it is expected that the wickets will be devoid of any grass when the main tournament starts. The overcast weather conditions can only come to the bowler’s rescue, as pointed out by Boult.

"During the Champions Trophy a few years back, it was very batsman friendly. But I am hoping the ball will swing around a little bit and we can take wickets with the new ball. You cannot control the weather. Time will tell and it will be interesting and we have the balance in the squad to counter any challenge," remarked the 29-year-old.

The southpaw also maintained that there are now favourites as such but named England, India and Australia as the stronger sides.

"I think it is anyone's tournament to win with ten quality sides. Obviously, England know the conditions well and India and Australia, they all play well in the World Cup, so, it is important to get off to a good start and then make it count. It will be exciting to take on the best players in the world," he signed off.