Ferguson is up to speed for test callup
He’s the highest-ranked New Zealand bowler at sixth in the world, who’s snared 20 wickets from his last three tests.
It’s not Trent Boult or Tim Southee, but Neil Wagner, who was surplus to requirements in a spin-dominated first test defeat to Sri Lanka at Galle.
Whether he starts in the second test in Colombo remained up in the air as rain threatened to wash out day one at P Saravanamuttu Stadium yesterday.
But the already tricky selection task facing captain Kane Williamson and coach Gary Stead with their pace bowlers will get even tougher when England arrive in November, and leaves Wagner potentially the most vulnerable.
The main reason is the rapid rise of 150kmh man Lockie Ferguson whose test claims can’t be overlooked much longer and will enter the equation in Mt Maunganui and Hamilton.
Ferguson was outstanding at the World Cup where the speedsters dominated. His 21 wickets at 19.47 were second-highest, sandwiched between Australia’s Mitchell Starc (27 at 18.59) and England’s Jofra Archer, now the talk of the test cricket world, who snared 20 at 23.05.
Ferguson wasn’t far off Archer for pace in England, and was accurate enough with bouncer and yorker to make an impact and give Williamson a genuine trump card.
At 28 Ferguson has 41 first-class matches to his name but proved durable and effective against Plunket Shield batsmen. He has 149 first-class wickets at 24.65 including 11 fivewicket bags. It must be a matter of time before he’s in the test squad.
So what does that mean for Wagner? The fact he’s not renowned as a new-ball bowler means he’s effectively head to head with Ferguson at first change in the traditional mix of three quicks, one spinner and allrounder Colin de Grandhomme.
On flat pitches Wagner’s consistently delivered for Williamson when the ball hasn’t swung for Boult and Southee. Charging in, over after over, and pounding the red Kookaburra at For the latest on the second test, go to stuff.co.nz
the body was highly effective as shown by his 9-73 against Bangladesh in Wellington in March.
Of New Zealand’s 10 highest test wicket-takers, Wagner’s strike rate of 52.6 is second only to the great Sir Richard Hadlee’s 50.8. On the world rankings he sits sixth, one spot ahead of Boult.
When there’s swing about, the Southee-Boult combination remains one of the most effective around. It’s just a question of when that Kookaburra will hoop, before they need to go to plan B with Wagner.
Wagner remains the first-choice first change, but for how much longer? At 33, and with 174 wickets at 27.51 from 42 tests he’s had a stellar career for New Zealand. And this is not a cricketing obituary, but a warning that Ferguson is racing up fast in Wagner’s side mirror with a compelling case for a first test cap.
One final thought: how good would a Ferguson v Archer shootout be at Bay Oval on November 21?