Fast bowling is not always about pace, at times it is about change of pace. And that realisation has helped Lockie Ferguson evolve into a better pacer.
While Pat Cummins is the biggest name in Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling line-up, it was New Zealander Ferguson who stole the limelight in the team’s last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. That was Ferguson’s first game of the tournament as well. The 29-year-old quick baffled the batsmen with change of pace and used the slower delivery to good effect.
Last year’s World Cup in the UK was indication enough of Ferguson’s progress, as he finished as the second highest wicket-taker with 20 scalps in the Black Caps’ run to the final.
“Lockie has always bowled with genuine pace and is very skiddy. But he has lately developed some useful change of pace that is very effective,” former New Zealand pacer Chris Pringle, who played 14 Tests and 64 ODIs, told The Telegraph from Tauranga.
Conditions in the UAE are far from ideal for quicks, though on certain occasions the fast bowlers have got some assistance from the surfaces. The Abu Dhabi pitch on Sunday was on the slower side, but Ferguson adjusted his length and mixed it up well with yorkers and slower ones to take three wickets during regulation play before striking twice in the Super Over.
Pringle was happy that Ferguson made good use of the opportunity he got. “Yeah, Lockie certainly took his chance. That’s what it is all about at the end of the day, making sure you are ready when someone taps you on the shoulder,” Pringle said.
“Lockie has a big heart, tried really hard and is obviously doing his homework. But I would like to see him a bit taller when at the bowling crease,” advised Pringle.
Another former New Zealand cricketer, spinner Dipak Patel, expects Ferguson to be even more lethal as a bowler in the coming days.
“His slower ones have improved immensely. The way he bowled in the Super Over was a great effort,” Patel, who shot to fame when Martin Crowe opened the bowling with him during the 1992 World Cup, said from Auckland.
“Lockie’s performance doesn’t surprise me, honestly. He has worked hard to get back to full fitness after a lengthy injury break. The Covid-19 break didn’t help him to get back to bowling fitness. But I’m pleased with him as he is a hard worker and it looks like he hasn’t lost the extra pace that he can generate.
“He a very smart one-day bowler. He now has very good variations and is good at the death, too. I’m looking forward to many more match-winning performances from Lockie. Of course, he can get even quicker once his match fitness increases.”
For Ferguson, it’s not just about sweating it out at the nets. Along with his brother Mitch, Ferguson has developed an app named Machineroad, which helps track ball speed and check bowling lengths. And he is using it during training sessions in the UAE.
