Balancing National Pride and Global T20 Opportunities
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has reiterated that playing for the Black Caps remains a priority, even as he continues to participate in franchise T20 leagues worldwide.
In recent years, several top Kiwi players — including Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Adam Milne, and Finn Allen — have stepped away from New Zealand Cricket’s central contracts to explore the flexibility and financial rewards of global T20 leagues. Ferguson is part of this trend, having also opted out of a central contract. However, he remains clear that his love for representing New Zealand hasn’t diminished.
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒁𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚,” 𝑭𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑯𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔.
The pacer is currently gearing up to play for the Trent Rockets in The Hundred. Despite his franchise commitments, he confirmed that he would soon return to international duty for a busy home season comprising three series.
“𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝑰 𝒈𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒁𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑺𝒐, 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Ferguson admitted that the landscape of cricket is evolving and national boards are handling the transition differently. But for him, the dream of playing in World Cups and donning the Black Caps jersey remains at the top.
Ferguson Welcomes IPL Investment in The Hundred
The 2025 edition of The Hundred has garnered renewed interest after IPL franchise owners invested in English teams. The GMR Group, co-owners of Delhi Capitals, now partly own Southern Brave, while the RPSG Group, which owns the Lucknow Super Giants, has purchased a 70% stake in Manchester Originals.
Ferguson views this development as a big positive for cricket in England and for The Hundred as a competition.
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝑷𝑳 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒅,” 𝑭𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅.
The Kiwi speedster is optimistic about the Trent Rockets’ chances this season and praised the team environment.
“We’ve got a strong group of lads who’ve bonded well. It’s a great ground to play on, and we’re excited for our opening game on Friday,” he said.
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