The always pragmatic Kane Williamson says there was no temptation to “fight fire with fire” as his coach said yesterday and pick Lockie Ferguson in the first Test against England to match Jofra Archer’s raw pace.
Williamson said they had considered debuting World Cup star Ferguson but went with the five-man attack – Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner – that had served them so well during a period of sustained success in home Tests.
Despite Stead saying yesterday that Ferguson could debut “at some stage to fight fire with fire in some ways”, Williamson said he largely ignored the opposition at the selection table.
With Jofra Archer on one side and potentially Lockie Ferguson on the other, raw pace looms as a key factor in the Black Caps-England Test series.
“I don’t know if that’s how you pick a team as such,” Williamson said.
“Don’t get me wrong having a guy in our camp who can bowl at such high speed is very attractive.”
“The current guys who have been there and been doing such a fantastic job for us are the ones that we are going with for this game, but it is great to have Lockie in the group getting in and around the guys for Test cricket.”
“Someone like Jofra has been outstanding for England but you don’t look at just mirroring the opposition, you do take them into account with how you’re trying to plan and execute the areas who work well.”
Archer’s electric start to his Test career after his World Cup heroics came as no surprise to Williamson.
Ferguson is set to make his Test debut after being named in the Black Caps' 15-man squad.
“He’s a world class bowler and I know he’s only played a few Test matches, but it was clearly no surprise that when he did come into Test cricket that he would have an impact as he did in white ball cricket,” Williamson said.
Archer took 22 wickets in four Ashes Tests at an average of 20.27 after finishing as the equal-third top wicket-taker in the World Cup with 20 scalps that cost 23.05 apiece
England captain Joe Root was looking to temper expectations around the x-factor of his attack.
“With Jofra, he brings something very different from what we’ve had previously, adds another dimension, always feel like he can create something, even on a mundane wicket,” Root said.
He’s still very much at the start of his career and he’s still learning and developing, it’ll be the first time he’s played for England on a Test tour, using the Kookaburra ball.”
“I’m sure he’ll learn a lot about his own game in these conditions.”
SHARE ME