New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson says he can give England 'anxiety'

"Fast bowlers are going to create a threat and cause problems just from pure pace but at the same time, you have to be accurate," says Ferguson, ahead of potential Test debut

Friday 15 November 2019 06:26, UK

New Zealand seamer Lockie Ferguson says he will be looking to give England's batsmen "a little bit of anxiety" if he makes his Test debut in the two-match series.

Ferguson - the second-highest wicket-taker at the Cricket World Cup this summer, behind only Australia's Mitchell Starc - has been included in a 15-man squad for the games in Mount Maunganui and Hamilton.

And the 28-year-old feels his express pace can ruffle England if he is able to break up the Black Caps' established seam-bowling trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner.

"Part of my role in the team is to bring a little bit of anxiety, potentially, from bowling extra speed," said Ferguson, ahead of the first Test, which is live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 9pm on Wednesday.

"I think that's probably the most exciting part about Test cricket - there's no limited overs so you know you're probably going to face them at some point in time," added Ferguson, recognising that New Zealand will have to contend with England speedster Jofra Archer.

"Fast bowlers are going to create a threat and cause problems just from pure pace but at the same time, you have to be accurate.

"One thing I've worked on a long time was bowling quick but making sure I was putting it where I wanted to put it. Although bowling quick is nice sometimes, you can get hit even further.

"You can't always go 100 per cent as you potentially can in one-day and T20 - you have to pick and choose when to bowl quick spells."

Ferguson - who has played 36 one-day internationals and eight T20Is for New Zealand - holds a fine red-ball record domestically, with his 153 wickets in 42 matches coming at an average of 24.30.

The paceman has taken 11 five-wicket hauls as well as 10 wickets in a match on one occasion but admits playing Test cricket will be a "different beast".

"I'm pretty excited to be part of the Test squad - it's a goal I've been working to for a long time as I really enjoy red-ball cricket," added Ferguson.

"We've got three internationally-recognised world-class bowlers [Boult, Southee, Wagner] who have been doing an exceptional job for us and put us at number two in the Test rankings.

"It's nice to rub shoulders with them. It's going to be a tough team to break into but there's a lot of Test cricket coming up.

"It's definitely going to be a new challenge. Fortunately I've played quite a lot against (England's) players before at international level so it's not completely new, but red ball is a different beast."

Watch day one of the first Test between New Zealand and England, at Bay Oval in Tauranga, live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404) and Sky Sports Main Event (channel 401) from 9pm on Wednesday.