Australia's Callum Ferguson says he has matured as a player

When Mike Hussey says that Callum Ferguson, at 30, is “ripe for the picking”, the Australian selectors need to pay heed. Hussey, who made his Test debut at the age of 30 and made volumes of runs in 79 Tests, ought to know a thing of two about blossoming at the international stage after a late call up.

Ferguson, the right-handed middle-order batsman from South Australia who has appeared in 30 ODIs for Australia between 2009 and 2011 and three Twenty20 Internationals six years ago is now ready for the Test call up. He has the backing of runs in their domestic first-class cricket, season after season.

Ferguson, currently in Chennai with Australia 'A' for the tri-series with South Africa 'A' and hosts India 'A' starting on August 5, said he can contribute a lot to the Australian Test side if selected.

Talking to the media in Chennai on Monday, Ferguson, who played in the second four-day game last week and scored 54 in the lone innings he played, said he aims to be consistent across all formats to be in contention for the Baggy Green.

“Any time Mike Hussey makes a mention of your name, you are very fortunate. It is about being consistent across all formats, making runs, putting lots of them together. If you put the numbers consistently, then the selectors will have your name on the table. I am glad I have been able to be part of this squad and this tour. Anytime you get a chance to play for an Australian representative squad,  it is a huge opportunity. At 30, I feel I have learnt a lot, experienced highs and lows and been through some injuries. I feel I am a stronger character for it. Whichever squad I do get selected, I can contribute a lot,” said Ferguson.

Obviously, Australia 'A' players look to graduate to the next level, the senior team, but it is not that easy. Ferguson, who has been averaging in excess of 50 in the last two seasons for South Australia, said every Australia 'A' player is keen to take the next step. “When you come away with an Australia 'A' squad, there are a lot of guys who have a lot to play for. What we really intend to do as an Australian squad is to put into place the cultural feel of the Australian team. We try and follow a lot of what they do and in really make it about the team as much as possible.

“We all understand that we have got each individual who is playing for something and obviously looking to go to the next level. But if you are playing in a winning side, the guys are doing well individually. So, we are really trying to make it about the team, create a really good atmosphere around the team, come together as a group and we feel we have done that and allowed us a series win in the four-day game. We want to use that momentum.

“There are guys that are probably looking at the next level. There are spots potentially opening up over the next two-three years. Every opportunity you get as an individual on an Australia 'A' tour is very important for the individual. But when we do come together as a team with any Australian squad, we want to make the team first. We want to make that the real focus for us,” he said.

Ferguson is not totally new to India. He was plying his trade for the now-defunct Pune Warriors in 2011 and 2012 IPL. Way back in 2003, he toured Bangalore with the Australian Cricket Academy to participate in the Karnataka State Cricket Association MRF Trophy. “I spoke with Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly when I was with Pune Warriors. It was fantastic to talk to them about playing against spin with technique. Tactically, they are both very good players of spin,” Ferguson recalled.

As part of the preparations for the current tour of south India, Ferguson practiced on the hybrid wicket set up at the National Cricket Centre in Ray Lindwall Oval, Brisbane. The hybrid pitch is a synthetic turf with black soil coated in a mixture of water and PVA glue to hold the surface together. Such hybrid pitch is similar to the sub-continent pitches, probably like the Days 3, 4 or 5 pitch in Test matches in the sub-continent.

Ferguson is wiser by the experience. He said: “I used it (hybrid wicket) for the first time in the week leading to this tour. I really enjoyed it. Any opportunity you get to train on wickets that are spin-suited, that is a fantastic thing for an Australian player. In the last five or six, we had seen seamer-friendly wickets in Shield cricket. In the last year or so, some pitches have started to turn a bit. It is important to have diversity within our own domestic system to allow us to come over here and not look completely foreign. The hybrid wicket will allow our kids to get used to playing on really big turning wickets.”

Looking ahead of the limited-overs tournament over the next week and a half, Ferguson said his team would take the winning momentum from the four-day game.

“We have acclimatised really well over the last few weeks in Chennai. A majority of the current team is actually made up of players who played in the four-day game. We will take a lot of confidence out of that. And playing against spin bowling, we feel the facilities back there (in Australia) turned a fair bit. The practice wickets allowed us to get used to the spin, sweeping and that sort of stuff. We think that will hold us in good stead going into this one-day series.

“We are familiar with this ground (MA Chidambaram Stadium). So we will certainly use anything we learnt in that four-day game to our advantage and try and get off to a good start because we feel one-day cricket and one-day tournament are really momentum-based. We will obviously use the injection of energy from the new players coming into the squad for the one-day series,” Ferguson said.

FERGUSON FOR AUSTRALIA (2009-2011):

In ODIs: 30 matches, 25 innings, 9 Not out, 663 runs, 71* highest, 41.43 average, 85.32 strike rate, 5x50, 7 catches

In T20Is: 3 matches, 3 innings, 0 not out, 16 runs, 8 highest, 5.33 average, 84.21 strike rate, 1 catch