Boult picks Southee as one of his No.1 favourites

Trent Boult finished his final international series of the 2017-18 season with a Player of the Series performance at home against England. With 15 wickets from four innings, which included the 6/32 on the first afternoon in Auckland that helped New Zealand bowl England out for 58, Boult and his new-ball bowling partner Tim Southee played a crucial role in the 1-0 series win.

Southee finished second-best on the wicket-takers' chart for the series, bettered only by Boult, with 12 wickets at 19.83 and was the Player of the Match for the second and final Test in Christchurch.

Boult has played 54 Tests and has picked up 215 wickets at 27.84. For most of those 54 Tests, he has had by his side Southee, who he considers one of the all-time Test greats.

"I will definitely put Tim Southee in the group, being my bowling partner for the last... probably all through my career, to be honest. I will have to say him firstly," Boult said when he was asked to name his favourite bowlers.

A left-arm bowler himself, it was quite obvious that he would name at least bowler of his like and there weren't many better that the Pakistan legend, Wasim Akram. Boult agreed, and added South Africa speedster Dale Steyn and New Zealand's all-time leading Test wicket-taker Sir Richard Hadlee in what he thought would have been an 'awesome' XI.

"Wasim Akram and Dale Steyn, and the great Richard Hadlee, that's off the top of my head. That's one hell of a bowling line-up and I wouldn't be facing them while batting for sure, but it will be awesome if something like that could happen."