NZ vs ENG | Lockie Ferguson's raw pace will make him a stand out Test bowler, believes Gary Stead

Lockie Ferguson is in line to make his Test debut, thanks to the packed schedule that New Zealand have in the coming weeks playing a two-match Test series versus England and then a three-match Test series against Australia. New Zealand coach Gary Stead believes that there will be a need to rotate the fast bowlers keeping in mind their workload management and this is where Ferguson will step in to make his Test debut and will hope to create an impact in Test cricket the same way in which he has in white-ball cricket.

"We have five Test matches in six weeks and I'm not sure the last time a New Zealand team has ever done that. We have to be really conscious of wear and tear and make sure every Test we play we have fighting fresh bowlers who can do the job for us," Stead told stuff.co.nz.

For over four years, the pace trio of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner have played the majority of the Test matches and have had great success, thereby cementing their place in the bowling line-up. But with a tough run of fixtures ahead and very less time to recover, rotating them will be key to avoid injuries and Ferguson will get an opportunity to display his skills with the red ball. Stead believes that it is the extra raw pace that Ferguson generates that will make him a stand out Test bowler.

"That's the point of difference Lockie brings that other guys don't have. We have to work out our best line-up and what we think is right for the conditions, and if we fight fire with fire we'll see. There's no doubt that X-factor is an exciting prospect," Stead asserted.

Stead feels that the New Zealand bowlers must take lessons from the Australian pace attack and the way their workload was managed in the Ashes series in August-September. All the bowlers except Pat Cummins were rotated and were kept fresh for every game which eventually made the difference as Australia retained the Ashes.

"It would be silly for us not to look at that. They did rotate their bowlers and it was horses for courses a bit. Like us, they have quite a bit of difference in their attack and definitely we have to consider that," Stead added.