NZ vs ENG | My role is to make English batsmen anxious by bowling fast, states Lockie Ferguson
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Lockie Ferguson, who is in line to make his Test debut in the first Test against England, has stated that his role in the team will be to throw England off their game by bombarding them with pace. Despite red-ball cricket being a completely different challenge, Ferguson is ready to embrace it.
Lockie Ferguson has always had the reputation of someone who can bowl really fast, but he broke new grounds in the 2019 World Cup by finishing as the tournament's second-highest wicket-taker, claiming a staggering 21 wickets in just 9 matches. And on the back of the World Cup success, Ferguson, for the first time, has now been called up to the Test team and his first assignment will be against an English team with plenty of new faces.
The speedster from Auckland believes that his role in the team will be to bowl at express pace and instil fear on the minds of the English batters, a role similar to that of his counterpart Jofra Archer. He also emphasized on the importance of the effective usage of the short ball to always keep the batsmen guessing.
"That's part of my role in the team ... to bring a bit of anxiety potentially by bowling extra speed. England have the same thing with the Jofra Archers and the like and it does the same thing for both teams. Hopefully, I can showcase the talents I have," Ferguson was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"It [Test cricket] opens you up to different tactics in how you bowl at batters and putting them under pressure and potentially making them a little bit nervous about the short ball," he added.
Having represented New Zealand in 44 limited-over matches, Ferguson will now be up against the daunting task of playing Test cricket and the speedster has revealed that he is well aware of the challenges the formats possesses and is ready to embrace it. The 28-year-old also admitted that it would not be possible to move on fifth gear throughout the entirety of the day in Tests and revealed that he has been working on both his endurance and accuracy, ahead of his Test debut.Â
"It's definitely going to be a new challenge. Like all the formats, it took a step up from the domestic level. Fortunately, I've played quite a lot of these (England) players before, so it's not completely new. But the red ball is a whole different beast. It's the longer form both mentally and physically and so it's going to be a challenge for sure," the 28-year-old said.
"I understand what it takes to be a fast bowler at that level. You can't always go 100 per cent like you potentially can at one-day and T20. You have to pick and choose when to bowl quick spells and that's part of the learning process that I've been working to for a few years now. But at the same time, you have to be accurate. Personally, that's one thing I've worked on for a long time - bowling quick but making sure I'm putting it where I want to put it," he concluded.
