Lockie Ferguson, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast bowler revealed that he drew inspiration from the aggressive mindset of coach fellow New Zealander Brendon McCullum. The Kiwi pacer also mentioned that he enjoyed watching the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the latter set it ablaze in the first match itself by scoring a century in the very first match ever in IPL.
While Brendon McCullum played his last international match in February 2016, Lockie Ferguson made his ODI debut in December that year. But, the express pacer said that he has bowled to him a few times in the nets.
Lockie Ferguson. Image Credit: Getty Images.
Lockie Ferguson Loves Watching Brendon McCullum In The First Ever Season Of IPL 2008 And Looks Forward For His Coaching Guidance
Lockie Ferguson heaped praise on the former New Zealand captain for bringing aggression into the game, saying that he is looking forward to playing under Brendon McCullum’s coaching.
“Well, I loved watching the first season when Brendon was smashing it all over the park. We didn’t know how big IPL was potentially going to be,” Ferguson was quoted as saying by kkr.in.
Brendon McCullum. Image Credit: BCCI/IPL.
Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 off just 73 balls in the first match of IPL 2008 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – a record that stood for five years until West Indian Chris Gayle scored 175 not out in IPL 2013. Even though KKR finished sixth that season in 2008, Brendon McCullum’s swashbuckling innings made the cash-rich league an instant hit.
“In my international career, I just missed out on having him as my captain…He is one of those New Zealanders who played the game the way he thought it should be played. He was always super aggressive and I guess my bowling mirrors him in a way when it comes to aggression. So yeah, I am thoroughly looking forward to playing under him as coach,” Ferguson, who has picked 69 wickets in 37 ODIs, said.
Lockie Ferguson has played in only 5 matches in IPL 2019 for KKR where he picked up 2 wickets. He had earlier picked up 3 wickets in 4 matches in IPL 2017 for Rising Pune Supergiants.
He first entered the New Zealand ODI squad in December 2016 and has played a total of 37 ODI matches where he picked up 69 wickets averaging 25.78. He has played 8 T20Is taking 14 wickets at an average of 15.85. He has appeared in a solitary test where went wicket-less.
Lockie Ferguson Taken Aback By Deafening Noise From Sell Out Crowd At Pune
Lockie Ferguson, who made his IPL debut for the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, said he was taken aback by the capacity crowd and that he had a hard time getting over the noise.
“I think it was difficult to measure for a Kiwi because here for Black Caps, a crowd of 20,000 is a big crowd. So, my first season at Pune in front of a sold-out crowd was extremely difficult because I couldn’t get over the noise. Seeing it on TV is one thing but being out there on the field in the IPL is a whole different ball game,” Ferguson added.
Lockie Ferguson
Lockie Ferguson would be looking to add to his tally of five wickets in Brendon McCullum’s first coaching stint at the IPL. Interestingly, the latter won his first trophy two days back when the Trinbago Knight Riders became CPL 2020 champions.
