Quick learner looks to lock up seamer’s role
He might not have the status of Trent Boult and Tim Southee just yet, but Lockie Ferguson has quickly become the Black Caps’ star seamer in oneday international cricket this summer.
The rapid 27-year-old has taken 17 wickets at an average of 14.47 in his last five ODI matches, continuing his rise from promising option to potential first-choice weapon.
At the start of the summer, before taking the field in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan, Ferguson had an ODI bowling average of 35.61 and an economy rate of 5.84.
Five games later, that average is down to an excellent 26.15, and his economy rate has dropped to a respectable 5.66. His recent returns — 3-36, 3-60, 5-45, 2-65 and 4-40 — have been superbly consistent, and stand out when compared to the Black Caps’ other seam options.
Since the start of the new season, Boult has taken seven wickets at an average of 45.71, Matt Henry four wickets at 63.5, and Southee three wickets at 64.3.
Some of it is luck — wickets at the death can be random, and Ferguson himself modestly suggests that his fellow seamers will likely bounce back and get those rewards in upcoming games. Additionally, the Black Caps place a lot of emphasis on players performing to their core roles, and Southee and Boult’s figures in particular aren’t aided by the amount of powerplay overs they have to bowl in.
However, Ferguson has seamlessly stepped into the role previously performed by the injured Adam Milne, offering a useful mix of 145km/h yorkers, searing short balls, and nifty slower deliveries to create an all-round bowling package which could be critical through the middle overs. It’s all put Ferguson on a fast track to be in the Black Caps’ starting XI come their ODI World Cup opener at the start of June, but he knows there’s pressure to perform.
“I think every game you play for New Zealand is a trial in a way; I guess that’s the pressures of playing international cricket. There are a lot of excellent bowlers in New Zealand and I think in later years we’ve sort of realised how deep our bowling attack is.”