With Lockie Ferguson waiting in the wings for a potential Black Caps Test debut, England skipper Joe Root is keeping his cards close to his chest at the thought of facing up to the Kiwi quick.
Having established himself as one of the world's most exciting fast bowlers in ODI and Twenty20 cricket, Ferguson is yet to crack the Black Caps' Test ranks, stuck behind the four-pronged seam attack of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Colin de Grandhomme.
However, with two Tests against England coming up, Ferguson could be unleashed on the touring side, whose issues against quality seam bowling has been exposed over the past two years.
Speaking to media at England's warm-up match against the New Zealand XI in Whangārei, Root spoke about the prospect of facing Ferguson.
"We've got to be prepared for all eventualities," Root said.
"There's obviously a lot of talk about him at the moment. It's completely out of our control.
"We know what he can do in white-ball cricket. We've seen that he's the sort of impact bowler.
"He's proven his worth in the white-ball format, it'll be interesting to see if that is the case, all we can do is prepare well for it and try and make sure that we've got all bases covered when it comes around."
The Black Caps' two-Test series with England begins at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval on November 21.
SHARE ME