Not only did the fast bowlers picked ahead of him - Andy McKay and Graeme Aldridge - play themselves out of a Black Cap, Boult took the chance to find some form with Northern Districts.
The brisk left-armer snared eight wickets in the opening Plunket Shield match of the summer against Auckland and followed it up with three more scalps in Northern's rout of Wellington during the week.
Boult admitted he wasn't impressed when he found out he wasn't going to be on the plane to Africa.
"Yeah, pretty disappointed that I didn't get selected in that squad,'' he told APNZ. "But looking back it's been a good opportunity to get a bit more game time and get my season underway with ND and obviously [I've] enjoyed a little bit of success there in those first couple of Plunket Shield rounds.''
Boult was the surprise addition to this season's batch of 20 contracted players but anyone who has followed the progress of the Rotorua-born seamer won't have been taken back.
A standout of the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, when his new-ball partner Tim Southee was named man of the tournament, Boult claimed 11 wickets at 10.90, including a remarkable 7-20 against Malaysia.
A first-class debut at 19 followed later that year, but rather than starting out for his province he was thrust in to the mix for New Zealand A against their Indian counterparts in Chennai.
He returned a tidy 3-76 for the match and his maiden first-class wicket was Suresh Raina, now a veteran of 130 one-day internationals and a World Cup-winner for India.
His form on the domestic circuit caught the eye of selectors and he was a shock inclusion for New Zealand's one-day squad to play in the Chappell-Hadlee series across the Tasman at the start of 2009.
But he didn't feature against Australia after he was flogged in the tour match and was used largely as a net bowler.
In the 2½ seasons since, Boult suffered a stress fracture in his back, managed to recover and has carved out a niche as a man who can swing the ball at pace and boasts a first-class bowling average of a touch under 25.
He said having the past two years to hone his game at domestic level rather than find his way at international level as a rookie had served him well.
"I took a lot of confidence out of completing a full first-class season with ND last year. The back's fine. I've come out of that.
"I was pretty young, pretty naive three years ago. It's been good to complete a season with ND and obviously playing cricket and just getting that opportunity to play pretty decent cricket here in New Zealand and learn from that.''
He is no guarantee to line up in either of the tests against Australia next month, but he's likely to get a chance in the four-day tour game against Australia A starting on November 24.
"It's just about getting that cap. So hopefully I can do the right things and impress the right people and get that nod,'' Boult said.
The 22-year-old is one of four seamers included in New Zealand's 13-man squad alongside his Northern Districts teammate Southee, veteran Chris Martin and rookie Doug Bracewell.
New Zealand coach John Wright said after announcing his side that Boult offered something different, which could be valuable at the Gabba where the first test will be played.
"I think a left-armer's always handy, but he does swing the ball, and possibly that's an area we'd like to exploit,'' Wright said. "The conditions in Brisbane sometimes suit swing bowling, but it does give you a different balance.''
Northern Districts coach Grant Bradburn, who has monitored the development of Boult during the past few summers, said he had all the tools to perform at international level.
"We are absolutely rapt for Trent,'' Bradburn said. "We have worked together to get him back to full fitness last year and he's obviously started this year extremely well, too. We are very proud of the work he's put in.
"He's quick. He swings the ball. He's one of the few guys who has that ability to swing it. He's proved his fitness and resilience is up for that level of play now.''
Bradburn is impressed with Boult's maturity, despite his relative inexperience.
"He'll keep coming in. He'll keep bustling in. He's very fit. He's very strong now and just grown a lot over the last couple of years; just filled out and grown a lot in terms of physical size.
"And the understanding of his own processes and his own bowling ... He's extremely professional and leads our guys in terms of that professionalism of just knowing how to look after himself and keeping himself in good tune.''
