Trent Alexander Boult is a former New Zealand cricketer who represented the New Zealand cricket team in all formats between 2011 and 2024. He continues to play in various Twenty20 leagues around the globe as a fast bowler. Boult was a key member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. He was also a part of the New Zealand squads to finish as runners-up in two Cricket World Cup finals in 2015 and 2019. Rated as one half of the best new-ball pair in New Zealand history by Sir Richard Hadlee, Trent Boult is a left-arm quick who presents a significant threat to batsmen around the world with an ability to move the ball both ways even in unresponsive conditions.

Boult was born in Rotorua in 1989. He grew up in Ohope and Tauranga, and was educated at Otumoetai College. He is the younger brother of cricketer Jono Boult. Boult is, in the words of his brother Jono, a "normal sort of Kiwi young guy… into his golf and fishing and surfing." Cricket, though, was his calling. He lived in a neighbourhood which included eventual New Zealand team-mates Kane Williamson and Doug Bracewell, and had the backing of a supportive household that also kept him grounded. Signs of his skill were evident even as a teenager. As a 17-year-old, he was named the fastest secondary school bowler in the country. A year later, he was representing New Zealand at Under-19s.

Boult accompanied the New Zealand ‘A’ team on their winter training tour in 2007. In February 2007, he took two wickets for 28 runs and scored seven not out against India's Under-19 team. He then travelled to Malaysia in February 2008 for the Under-19 World Cup.

In January 2009, Boult was selected for the New Zealand squad for the one-day series against Australia at just 19 years of age. Boult only managed to play in the warmup game against the Prime Minister's XI and went wicketless off seven overs. During the tour Boult was clocked as the fastest bowler touring with the New Zealand team with a highest speed of 143.3 km/h. Boult made his Test debut in the 2011/12 season. In the Second Test against Australia in Hobart - in a match won by New Zealand by 7 runs - New Zealand claimed its first test win in Australia since 1985 and their first test win over Australia since 1993. He took four wickets in the match; additionally, he scored 21 runs in a tenth-wicket partnership with Chris Martin in the second innings.

In 2012, Boult produced a string of strong performances with the ball against the West Indies, India and Sri Lanka to consolidate his position as Tim Southee's new ball partner. He carried this good form into 2013 when he took 19 wickets in 5 tests against England, including his best test match innings bowling figures of 6/68 at Eden Park in March.

After suffering a side strain during New Zealand's final test match against England at Leeds, Boult returned to the New Zealand test side for a two-test tour of Bangladesh. Boult struggled in the hot and dry conditions, taking just 3 wickets and frequently straying with his accuracy. However, when back in home conditions against the touring West Indies, Boult swiftly returned to his best. In the second test at the Basin Reserve Boult won man of the match award, after taking career best figures of 10 for 80 and completing a brilliant one-handed diving catch to his left to dismiss Denesh Ramdin. In the first innings of the second test on the same venue against India, Boult made another one-handed diving right-handed catch to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane. He also had bowling figures of 4 for 146.

In the Trans-Tasman trophy 2015/16 series, in Australia, in the third Test, the first ever day-night test in history, Boult became the first New Zealander and second overall after Josh Hazlewood, to take a five-wicket haul in a day-night test. However, Australia won the day-night match by 3 wickets. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' for the 2015 World Cup by the ICC.

In 2018, Boult produced his best figures in Test cricket, taking 6/32 in the First Test against England in Auckland. England were bowled out for 58 in their first innings and New Zealand went on to win the Test by an innings and 49 runs. New Zealand went on the win series 1–0; Boult finished with 15 wickets at an average of 18.33 and was named man of the series. At the NZC Annual Awards, he received the Men's Test Player of the Year and the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for best International player of the year. In May that year, Boult was one of twenty players to be awarded a new contract for the 2018/19 season by New Zealand Cricket.

In the fourth ODI of India's 2018/19 New Zealand tour, Boult claimed his fifth five-wicket haul, the joint-most for a New Zealand bowler alongside Richard Hadlee. He returned figures of 5/21 helping his team dismiss India for their lowest total in ODIs since 2010. New Zealand went on record one of their biggest wins and Boult was named man of the match. He became the first New Zealand player and 11th in a World Cup match to take a hat-trick in 2019.

In April 2019, he was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In June 2019, in the match against Bangladesh, Boult took his 150th wicket in ODIs. In June 2019, in the match against Australia, Boult took the second hat-trick of the World Cup. He was the first bowler for New Zealand to take a hat-trick at the Cricket World Cup. In August 2021, Boult was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He helped his team reach the finals, taking 13 wickets for New Zealand, the highest for his team.

In January 2022, in the second match against Bangladesh, Boult took his 300th wicket in Test cricket. In May 2024, he was named in New Zealand’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. He retired from international cricket after New Zealand was knocked out in the group stage of the tournament. Boult then lifted the trophy with M.I New York in the inaugural season of the Major League Cricket - where he took three wickets in the final. Trent Boult was the top New Zealand earner on the first day of the Indian Premier League auction in Saudi Arabia. Boult headed back to the Mumbai Indians for $2.5 million. Trent Boult is likely to return for the remainder of IPL 2025 after a break in the tournament. It is a shot in the arm for Mumbai Indians, considering Boult has been a key part of their success in a season where they have bounced back from a weak start to emerge as a strong contender for the playoffs.

Boult is a left-arm fast-medium swing bowler who makes up for his relative lack of height with deceptive pace of approximately 140 km/h and ability to swing the ball both ways with different variations. Boult's primary weapon is an inswinger to a right-handed batsman. Unsurprisingly, his childhood cricketing hero is Wasim Akram. In 2013, in a radio interview, former New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney rated Boult as New Zealand's best bowling discovery since Shane Bond. In 2014, he became the 4th test bowler since Richard Hadlee, Chris Martin and Iain O'Brien to claim 30+ wickets in consecutive years.