Blackcaps spearhead Trent Boult has made it through a testing bowling session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground unscathed to all but confirm that he's fit and ready to take on Australia in the Boxing Day test.
It's welcome news for Kiwi fans, who have so far snapped up 16,000 tickets to the biggest cricket test on the international stage.
"I'm feeling good," Boult said. "I'm very eager to get out there so obviously I'm going to be doing as much as I can to get out there."
The 30-year-old is coming back from a side strain that ruled him out of the opening test in Perth.
While he was reluctant to fully commit to being ready for the MCG next week, all signs seem to indicate he'll take the new ball on day one.
"I feel like I've been rehabbing well. The ball's coming out alright, I'm hoping to be pushing for Boxing Day and getting back out there.
"We've still got seven or eight days before it happens. I'll be using it as best as I can. We have a warm-up game in a couple of days' time. It'll be nice to get some cricket, I'll be making a call as late as I can."
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