MANCHESTER: Pacer Lockie Ferguson was in his element here at Old Trafford on Monday. The pacer returned to the nets after missing New Zealand’s World Cup clash against England at Chester-le-Street because of a hamstring strain.
In his absence, New Zealand crashed to a 119-run loss that almost ended their hopes of reaching the last four.
But after edging Pakistan out because of a superior net run-rate, New Zealand are fancying their chances with coach Gary Stead looking towards Ferguson to land the killer blow against rampaging India here at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
“I absolutely expect Lockie to play. If the last game was a semi-final or final, we probably would have played him, so it was more a precautionary measure not to play him,” the coach said.
“He definitely had some hamstring tightness and he needed 48 hours for that to settle down. He’s in good shape and barring getting through the next couple of days, then I expect him to play.
“Lockie has been enormous for us. It is his first World Cup as well and I’ve just been delighted that every time he’s come on to bowl, he’s looked like he’s going to make a difference out there.
Ferguson is one of the stars for New Zealand having taken 17 wickets in the tournament so far.
“Whether that’s through pace, whether that’s through creating pressure for the other person at the other end – he always has been looking likely and hopefully he can do that again against India,” said Stead.
He also believes that misfiring opener Martin Guptill will return to form.
“Martin’s got a lot of ODI hundreds and he has been a key player for us in the past. Our job as support staff is to get him in the right frame of mind,” said Stead.
“He’ll go out and express himself and who knows, if he makes 150 in the next game, then we probably won’t be talking about this anymore.
“People go through form slumps and heights all the time. He’s had a tough tournament but there’s nothing from my point of view that suggests that’s going to continue for a long period of time.”
Not many are giving New Zealand much of a chance but Stead is confident that his charges will give their best against India.
“Hopefully, you’ll see what Kiwis are made of out there and our never-say-die attitude; we will stand up when we need to. There are no second chances now, are there?
“People aren’t expecting us to win and from my point of view, I think that’s a good place to be because if that’s the case, we can go out there and play with some real freedom.”
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