Lockie Ferguson sends "anxiety" warning to England ahead of New Zealand first Test

The Kiwi seamer hopes to make his five-day debut at The Bay Oval next week and plans to crank up the pace if called upon

New Zealand seamer Lockie Ferguson is promising to cause England problems with ferocious spells of fast bowling if called upon to make his debut in the first Test at The Bay Oval next week.

Ferguson was one of the fastest bowlers at the World Cup, regularly clocking speeds in excess of 90mph during his outings as the Kiwis reached the Lord's final.

Jofra Archer provided a taste of the pace England will offer during the second tour match, with centurion Glenn Phillips describing the Barbados seamer as the fastest bowler he had ever faced.

And Ferguson is ready to fight fire with fire. "Part of my role in the team is to bring a little bit of anxiety, potentially, from bowling extra speed," he said. "England have some quick bowlers too with Jofra Archer, it does the same thing to both teams.

"I think that’s probably the most exciting part about Test cricket is that there’s no limited-overs so you know you’re probably going to face them at some point in time.

New Zealand seamer Lockie Ferguson earns maiden call-up for England Test series

"Fast bowlers are going to create a threat and cause problems just from pure pace but at the same time, you have to be accurate.

"That’s one thing I’ve worked on a long time was bowling quick but making sure I was putting it where I wanted to put it. Although bowling quick is nice sometimes you can get hit even further."

The Auckland-native is set for his chance in the longest form of the game having made 36 one-day international and eight T20 outings for the Black Caps.

"I’m pretty excited to be part of the Test squad, it’s a goal I’ve been working to for a long time as I really enjoy red-ball cricket," he added.

"We’ve got three internationally-recognized world-class bowlers who have been doing an exceptional job for us and put us at number two in the Test rankings.

"It’s nice to rub shoulders with them. It’s going to be a tough team to break into but there’s a lot of Test cricket coming up."

Subscribe to The Cricketer this Christmas and receive a £20 John Lewis voucher or Alastair Cook’s autobiography. Claim your free gift here

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.