Lockie Ferguson Commits to New Zealand Over Leagues

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 β€” including Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Adam Milne, and Finn Allen β€” 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.

“π‘°β€™π’Ž π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’—π’†π’“π’š π’„π’π’Žπ’Žπ’Šπ’•π’•π’†π’… 𝒕𝒐 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π‘΅π’†π’˜ 𝒁𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑰 π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’Žπ’š π’„π’π’–π’π’•π’“π’š,” π‘­π’†π’“π’ˆπ’–π’”π’π’ 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 π’Šπ’ 𝒂 π’„π’π’π’—π’†π’“π’”π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π‘―π’Šπ’π’…π’–π’”π’•π’‚π’ π‘»π’Šπ’Žπ’†π’”.

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 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’”, 𝑰 π’ˆπ’ π’‰π’π’Žπ’† 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 π’ƒπ’Šπ’• 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’• π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π‘΅π’†π’˜ 𝒁𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 π’ˆπ’π’• 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 π’”π’†π’“π’Šπ’†π’” π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑺𝒐, π’‰π’π’‘π’†π’‡π’–π’π’π’š π’•π’‚π’Œπ’† 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‘π’‚π’“π’Œ,” 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.

β€œπ‘° π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ π’Šπ’•β€™π’” π’ˆπ’“π’†π’‚π’• 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’†. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝑷𝑳 𝒉𝒂𝒔 π’”π’‰π’π’˜π’ π’‰π’π’˜ 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍 π’•π’π’–π’“π’π’‚π’Žπ’†π’π’•. π‘»π’‰π’†π’Šπ’“ π’Šπ’π’—π’†π’”π’•π’Žπ’†π’π’• 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’†π’™π’‘π’†π’“π’Šπ’†π’π’„π’† 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒅,” π‘­π’†π’“π’ˆπ’–π’”π’π’ π’„π’π’Žπ’Žπ’†π’π’•π’†π’….

The Kiwi speedster is optimistic about the Trent Rockets’ chances this season and praised the team environment.

β€œWe’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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