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Five-porthole bags are treasured whenever they come, but Lockie Ferguson’s 5-21 loot in the Black Caps’ Twenty20 victory over the West Indies held special significance.
He was wearing number 26 instead of his usual number 87 for the match at Eden Park in Auckland in tribute to his grandmother, Dawn Hammond, who passed away at the end of October.
Ferguson was in the United Arab Emirates playing in the Indian Premier League and was unable to return for her funeral, but was able to honor her on Friday by wearing her date of birth on his back.
“She used to tie herself watching cricket,” he said afterward.
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“She loved to follow all the cricket, but of course the Black Caps, so it was very special to have a good day with her looking down on us.”
Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
Lockie Ferguson won 5-21 when the Black Caps defeated the West Indies in the first Twenty20 international match at Eden Park.
Ferguson’s five wickets included two on his first change and one on his second, on either side of a reinforcement from Tim Southee, an 11-ball spell that started with the West Indies 58-0 and ended them 59-5.
Tourists still managed to rack up 180 runs in the 16 overs they had in the rain-affected game, but would have been out of sight if Ferguson hadn’t hit when he did.
However, he acknowledged that they had a lot to improve as a bowling unit overall.
“Eden Park is one of those great courses – we have played a lot here and some days you play well and you are not very lucky and other days you are that lucky.
“We certainly have to re-examine our plans. We were probably a little rusty, but obviously when there’s such a small cap and a really fast wicket and a good wicket then they’re going to hit you if you miss.
“When you have a West Indies team with so much power across their roster, everyone is looking to hit six, so we need to make sure we go back to our plans, reevaluate and figure out what our plans are for the future. . “
Ferguson’s efforts were extra impressive because he only left the administered isolation in Christchurch on Thursday morning and did not join the team until they met on Friday night.
“The first time I saw Lockie, it was at five last night, a couple hours before the game,” coach Gary Stead said Saturday.
“For me, it is a real credit to our staff and the planning that took place behind the scenes.
“We give the guys the plans that we think are correct and we have discussions with them until a week before the first game and I think [bowling coach] Shane Jurgensen has done an excellent job with Lockie there, setting it up. “
Two other late arrivals, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner, played a significant role as the Black Caps chased their tight goal of 176 with five wickets and four balls to spare, scoring 48 of 24 balls and 31 of 18 balls respectively.
The Black Caps have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-game Twenty20 series against the West Indies, which will conclude with a pair of games at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday (2pm) and Monday (7pm).
