‘We’ve got all the bases covered for the semi-final’, Lockie Ferguson is confident ahead of the clash with India
New Zealand had the better NRR compared to Pakistan and Afghanistan going into the final matchday of the competition and with their win against Sri Lanka it was enough for the 2019 ICC World Cup runners-up to qualify for the business round of the competition .
Mumbai, November 13: Despite losing Matt Henry to a torn right hamstring, star pacer Lockie Ferguson is adamant New Zealand have a ‘good bunch’ and are all set for the crucial semi-final against hosts India on Wednesday.
Henry believes the Kiwis have all the bases covered for the semi-finals and like any other match, they will look to tighten things up.
New Zealand had the better NRR compared to Pakistan and Afghanistan going into the final matchday of the competition and with their win against Sri Lanka it was enough for the 2019 ICC World Cup runners-up to qualify for the business round of the competition .
“We are in a good position here. Matt Henry is obviously a big hole in our side and we are still a good bunch without Matt Henry,” Ferguson told the media ahead of New Zealand’s training at Wankhede Stadium.
“I take that on the chin, but now Tim Southee brings a lot of experience from a cricketing point of view. Obviously that experience, as captain of the Test team, captain of the T20s and also the one-dayers, counts for a lot.”
Ferguson said Southee also has the necessary experience to play in India and that should stand New Zealand in good stead. “He’s played a lot in India too which is great too, he was obviously quite discouraged by the way Matt Henry left the World Cup which was such a shame.
“We know injuries always come at the worst time but he will no doubt be supporting from home and Tim Southee will be ready to go,” Ferguson added.
Ferguson said while the template here in Wankhede is about the team batting first after winning the toss, New Zealand will have ready-made plans for all situations.
“The stats probably favor batting first, but at the same time (a) it’s not up to me, and (b) we have to play the game on the day. Whatever it may be, bat or ball first, we have plans for that. And it is important to stick to it.
“It would obviously be nice to bowl under lights and always from a bowling perspective. (It’s) nice to see when the ball moves a little bit and gets us into the game. We’ll just have to play it the way we see it on matchday,” Ferguson added.
The right-arm pacer was all praise for young Rachin Ravindra, who was the find of the tournament with his sensational batting show in the competition.
“Yes, good player, right? Very good player. I’ve seen Rachin progress a bit from the domestic stages and have played a number of New Zealand A games with him. I think he has an exceptional attitude on and off the field in the way he approaches life, but especially with his cricket,” said Ferguson.
Ferguson acknowledged that playing in India on high-scoring wickets was a challenge for the bowlers.
“From our point of view, we’re trying to understand what the pitch is going to look like and trying to read what a good score is on it because obviously those big overs can cost you a lot of money at the end of the innings.
“So from a bowling perspective we’re trying to stop those big overs, trying to understand what we think is a good total for the score,” he said.
“It’s an experience thing (and) it’s a judgment thing. The field will be different, that’s the nice thing about cricket, we play on a different field every time, so it’s difficult to read two days.”
After losing the league match against India earlier in the tournament in Dharamsala, Ferguson said it will be crucial for New Zealand to be as ‘tight’ as possible.
“It was a hard-fought match. I thought it was extremely good to get a good total from that. And of course in one-day cricket and playing against India there is a lot of ebb and flow.
“This match will be no different. We just need to tighten up as much as possible,” Ferguson added.
(With PTI inputs)