Lockie Ferguson of Punjab Kings on fast bowling in the IPL: Speed and skill in T20 cricket

His IPL career has been more chequered—even though he was part of the title-winning Gujarat Titans team in 2022, Ferguson has been a journeyman—finding himself in new teams every couple of seasons or so. This year, he is part of Punjab Kings under seasoned IPL coach Ricky Ponting, and with India’s leading T20 bowler, Arshdeep Singh, as his partner in pace. 

In an interview squeezed in between the hectic schedule of the ongoing IPL, Ferguson spoke about adjusting to his new team, and what it means to be a fast bowler in an age where batting seems to reign supreme. Edited excerpts:

It’s been just a couple of weeks, but how are you fitting in at Punjab Kings? 

I’m having a great time. It’s early days, but I think the team’s really gelling; it’s a great bunch of players, but also the coaching staff and the support staff are fantastic. Great leadership with Ricky and Shreyas (captain Shreyas Iyer). I feel like I’m in good hands, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of games. 

Also Read IPL 2025: Is the world's biggest cricket league ready for its first 300+ score?

Are you developing a good partnership with Arshdeep? He’s such a canny T20 bowler. The two of you can be the perfect combination of speed and guile. 

I’ve been playing against Arshdeep for so many years and he seems to always come up trumps and performs in each game, so it’s nice to have him on my side for once. I’ve always been curious about what he’s like off the field in his training, and I’m not at all surprised to see how hard he works. It’s tough to get the ball out of his hands during training and I think that’s a great attribute, you can see his attitude towards his profession is outstanding. He leads from the front and he just loves what he does and that’s quite contagious for the group and you can feed off that energy. I love watching him bowl. 

Do you think it’s a bit of an irony that you are the fastest bowler in the world, but over here in the IPL, your most potent weapon is the slower ball, like the one that took Yashasvi Jaiswal’s stumps (Punjab vs Rajasthan on 5 April) and left him clueless? 

Pace is great and I’m very passionate about it. It’s a really cool part of the game and guys who can push their bodies to the absolute extreme to bowl as fast as they can has been great for this tournament. People like KG (Kagiso Rabada), (Mohammed) Siraj, Josh (Hazlewood) too, are bowling real quick. It’s great to see though I would rather not have them do that when we are playing against them. Pace is what fizzes me up the most in cricket. 

Also Read Women's Premier League: Breaking barriers one season at a time

But yes, the faster you bowl, sometimes, the faster the ball reaches the boundary. So you do need to have those change-ups, you need to have some execution behind you. It’s been a constant process of development for me. I’ve had the back of the hand slower ball for a while, but the more people face me, the more they are able to read that. So the knuckle ball has been a new addition in the last year or so. It’s nice when it comes out well, particularly against someone like Jaiswal, you know how amazing he is. You could probably tell how happy I was with that one. 

What’s the process of this development like for you? Do you enjoy it? 

Oh, for sure. That’s what keeps me coming back. I’m at the later end of my career, but I’m still very hungry to perform and develop and become a better bowler. It’s nice that the pace is still very much there. I think the other areas I am continually trying to develop behind the scenes. Trying to develop different kinds of balls keeps me hungry. 

Also Read Straight out of Jharkhand: Salima Tete's journey to become India hockey captain

The fast bowling community is actually very tight-knit and it’s amazing how everyone shares information—the skills, the methods, the thought processes. What’s going on through Bumrah’s mind when he is thinking of when to bowl an yorker? What’s Arshdeep thinking? This exchange of information is one of the most enjoyable things in my job. Fast bowlers are so keen to try and help other bowlers. It’s something I like to do as well, to help out younger bowlers. 

On the other hand, cricket, especially the IPL, has become all about hitting big. Where does that leave bowlers? 

The game has been developing constantly. In my first few years in the IPL, 180 sounded like a huge total. But that’s just the nature of the game. The pitches in India have become such that the ball comes on to the batsman so it’s a bit easier to hit, a bit easier to get into good positions and have a swing. Also, young Indian cricketers are now fearless, they have the confidence to go out and play their own way and I think that’s great. I just try to develop along the way and find ways to get better. There will be difficult days for sure but then when you have a successful day, it’s that much sweeter. 

There’s no panic from fast bowlers but there is an adjustment in expectations. At the same time we are still playing the game one ball at a time, ball by ball, trying to win that one delivery and then move on to the next. It’s great to watch fast bowlers at the peak of their game in conditions that are more suitable to them. Sometimes you get a pitch that’s great for bowling, sometimes you get one that’s great for batting and that’s the nature of the game. 

Part of the T20 landscape is a shift in the mindset of batters. They are told to go big from the first ball, there is no fear of losing your wicket. Is there a change in the psychology of bowlers too? 

I think execution has got a lot better. The room for errors is now so much smaller. It has to be that bowlers have got more accurate even at top speeds, and also everyone has a lot of change-ups now. Guys are bowling quick bumpers followed by quick yorkers, so the skill sets are developing just like it is for batters. The T20 game has changed cricket so much and it will continue to change it, but there will always be a contest between batters and bowlers. It’s a good opportunity to challenge yourself and learn. 

Rudraneil Sengupta is the author of  Enter the Dangal, Travels through India’s Wrestling Landscape.

Also Read Faster and higher: The reason why athletics records are tumbling around the world