Black Caps fast bowler Lockie Ferguson is back from injury and the country has the Otago batting line-up to thank for it.
He returns to the New Zealand one-day side for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy following a long lay-off.
The fast bowler picked up a calf injury during his test debut in the first test against Australia in Perth in December.
His return has been carefully managed — well, not that carefully from Otago’s point of view.
Ferguson has played two one-dayers and two four-day games in preparation for his international return. Three of the matches were against Otago.
He took two for 50 in an impressive effort in the one-day final against the Volts. He bowled with pace and aggression during the Aces’ two-wicket win.
He also struck in-form Otago opener Hamish Rutherford on the helmet. Rutherford was forced to retire when he failed a concussion assessment and his departure robbed the Otago innings of some valuable momentum.
While no-one likes to see a player get struck that way, Ferguson brings a point of difference from the other seamers in the Black Caps attack.
He was the standout bowler for New Zealand at the World Cup last year, and his return will be warmly welcomed by fans who will be hoping the three-game one-day series against Australia will be more successful than the recent test series against the same opponent which was lost 3-0.
Ferguson appreciated the extra time he was afforded.
‘‘Coming back from a pretty tough injury, and quite a long one considering I’ve been pretty good for the last few years, I needed to take the time to make sure it was right and fortunately played quite a lot of cricket so I have that confidence back in my body,’’ he said.
‘‘Having the time in the legs means I can trust it and feel confident with the rhythm I’ve built up.’’
Ferguson’s test debut certainly did not go as well as he hoped. There was the injury, of course, but his 11 overs proved quite costly as well.
‘‘My debut wasn’t great ... so hopefully I can rectify that and get through a first full game.’’
Ferguson will team up with Trent Boult and probably Matt Henry. The trio started in the infamous tied World Cup final and arguably have first dibs in Australia.
But the form of rookie seamer Kyle Jamieson could result in the lanky pace bowler usurping Henry. Jamieson starred during the test series against India with nine wickets and a couple of tremendous batting efforts of note.
Veteran right-armer Tim Southee has also found good form with the red ball.
It is a very decent group of seamers which coach Gary Stead has at his disposal.
‘‘When you start developing in more depth ... then I think there is always difficult [selection] decisions to make. But essentially it is one change from the World Cup squad ... and it is exciting to go back to Australia and play them in the different format,’’ the coach said.
‘‘We are determined to go over there and put in a performance that shows we deserved to be in that World Cup final and that we can compete with Australia on their grounds.’’
New Zealand has not beaten Australia in a one-day series in Australia.
The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy adds extra significance given the outstanding contribution both families made to the game.
The series starts at the Sydney Cricket Ground a week tomorrow.
