KKR pacer Lockie Ferguson longing to play Test cricket

Lockie Ferguson longing to play Test cricket: The Kiwi fast bowler has expressed his desire of playing all the formats at the highest level.

Part of a winter training camp in Mount Maunganui alongside other national players, New Zealand and Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has laid emphasis on reflecting on his four-year old international career during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“The lockdown treated everyone differently but certainly for myself, it gave me the time naturally to reflect on what’s happened in the last few years.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind three years being on tour and playing all year around. And just to reflect on how that went, what kind of player I want to be in the future and how best I can be suited to hopefully playing all three formats because I want to play all three formats for the country,” Ferguson said.

Having made his ODI debut in 2016, Ferguson has been a regular face for New Zealand in white-ball cricket in the recent years. Ferguson, 29, is New Zealand’s highest ODI wicket-taker in the last two years on the back of dismissing 48 batsmen in 21 ODIs at an average of 21.47, an economy rate of 5.20 and a strike rate of 24.7.

Lockie Ferguson longing to play Test cricket

It was in December last year that Ferguson made his Test debut against Australia in Perth. However, a calf strain cut restricted him to bowl only 11 overs in his debut match.

Having picked 161 wickets in 45 first-class matches at an average of 24.68, Ferguson has expressed his desire of frequently playing cricket’s ancestral format at the highest level. Despite cut-throat competition in New Zealand’s Test team, Ferguson considers it a goal to make the cut in red-ball cricket.

“I have certainly been excited to be part of the [Test] squad and getting a bit of taste of Test cricket although it wasn’t to be my Test match but certainly it’s in my goals. Test cricket is one of those formats I really want to play and by no means do I look lightly upon T20s and one-dayers because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing those.

“The goal is still alive within all three formats and how best I can play in all three and be an effective player and most importantly how to get us more wins,” Ferguson added.

Ferguson, who made his IPL debut for Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, will be among the six Kiwi players to travel to UAE for IPL 2020. Having shifted base to KKR last year, Ferguson would be fighting for the overseas pacer’s slot with Pat Cummins and Harry Gurney.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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