Lockie eager to cause English anxiety

Black Caps fast bowler Lockie Ferguson is eager to bring a bit of anxiety to the England batting lineup if he can finally make his overdue test debut.

The white ball tearaway has been included in New Zealand’s 15-man squad for the two tests against England, the first in Mount Maunganui starting on Thursday, and three against Australia.

It’s taken him seven years to break in and he’s hoping to grab his opportunity, well aware of the expectations around him as he adds a new dimension to an attack that has been built around swing kings Trent Boult and Tim Southee alongside short-ball specialist Neil Wagner.

‘‘That’s part of my role in the team . . . to bring a bit of anxiety potentially by bowling extra speed,’’ he said of adding some fear factor for the touring batsmen.

‘‘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 is looking forward to bowling to what he describes as ‘‘creative’’ field placements in the test arena.

‘‘It 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.’’

Ferguson has proven irresistible on the back of his outstanding exploits at the World Cup where he took 21 wickets, second only to Australian Mitchell Starc.

He admits the longer form has long been his passion though he successfully adapted to make the one-day and Twenty20 New Zealand teams. Now he’s ready for the necessary adjustments for a crack at the five-day scene.

There’s nothing like a fast bowler in full flight and this looks to be Ferguson’s time.

‘‘I think international cricket has had quite an awesome year with fast bowlers and the World Cup,’’ Ferguson said.

‘‘Early on they were talking about spinners being the real threat and it was exciting for me to be part of the fast bowling fraternity and to see the fast bowlers at the top of that [wicket-taking] list. I don’t think it changes to test cricket

. . . fast bowlers are going to create a threat and cause problems for batters just from pure pace.

‘‘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.

‘‘It’s definitely going to be a new challenge. Like all the formats, it took a step up from domestic level. Fortunately I’ve played quite a lot of these [England] players before, so it’s not completely new. But red ball is a whole different beast. It’s the longer form both mentally and physically so it’s going to be a challenge for sure.’’

He’s up for that and has been working hard with his Auckland bowling mentor, former Black Caps allrounder Andre Adams.

‘‘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 oneday 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.’’

He has worked hard to improve his fitness to be ready for this opportunity and the increased pressures on the body.

The modest 28-year-old paid tribute to the camaraderie in the Black Caps bowling unit and felt his recent international success was often a result of the pressure being applied by the experienced bowlers operating at other end.

‘‘We’ve got three internationally recognised world class bowlers who have been doing an exceptional job and put us to No 2 on the test rankings [behind India, with England at No 3]. That’s awesome and it’s great to be around those guys learning.

‘‘It’s going to be a tough team to break into but there’s obviously a lot of test cricket coming up.’’