Ferguson prepares for some familiar faces

What's the feeling like taking on your countrymen?

It's going to be really strange. The closest thing I can think of is when I first left the Adelaide Strikers and first started playing against a lot of the guys I'd always played with. It'll be a strange feeling but should be a bit of fun. It’s a very strong Australia A side so we know we're in for a contest. We've got a few injury issues on the bowling front but we'll be sending out pretty well our strongest team. We play some pretty good white-ball cricket here at Worcester so our boys will be chomping at the bit for the contest. It'll be an interesting feeling getting out there and playing against a side wearing green and gold.

Australia A are two from two. Are you looking to spoil the party?

We're going to try! Certainly, as a touring side, you don't want to be just rolling up against weakened counties every game. I haven't had a close look at the other sides but it looks like the Aussie guys have had a pretty comfortable win in both. We'll certainly be trying to get a win on the board. We’ve had quite a lot of success in white-ball cricket over the last couple of years so our guys will be really keen to test themselves against a strong side.

What gives you the confidence in your squad that you can push this Australia A team?

We've got a lot of talent in the group. We've got guys who have played in (England) Lions squads over the years, we've had quite a bit of success winning the Vitality Blast last year, making the knockouts of the last two one-day comps as well. I guess it's just that we've got guys that have had great success not just locally but around the world. We're obviously aware that the Australia A side is incredibly strong as well, so as much as anything it's going to be a good chance for some of our guys to test themselves at another level that they may not have been exposed to. It’s a side that’s very ambitious, the Worcestershire group, so they'll be thrilled to get the opportunity to challenge themselves against a really strong side.

How much banter are you expecting on the field?

I'm not 100 per cent sure. There's usually a fair bit going on in the domestic game. Look, I know that it's a side that's full of quality with some competitive beasts which is what you're used to in domestic cricket back home. I'm expecting a little bit of banter but you never really know until you get out there. There are some guys in that 'A' side that are out to prove a point on this tour I think. I know it's going to be a hell of a contest. So I'll be really excited for that and looking forward to catching up with a few guys before and after the game too.

Have you spoken to South Australia teammate Travis Head about this game?

Yeah, I've had a few text messages with Trav. We were hoping to catch up for a bite to eat but things aren't going to work out before the game, so I'll be keen to catch up with him for a beer after the game and a few of the other guys as well. It's been good to see Trav get a good start in the last couple of games and from what he's been telling me he's batting really well which is even better to hear.

Who is a player in the Worcestershire squad that might surprise the Aussies?

We've got some dangerous hitters in the squad. I think a guy like Riki Wessels; he's lit it up against the best in the world at different stages. He's the kind of guys that you might come up against and 20 overs in he's on 80 and you're like 'holy hell, we've got to stop this freight train'. We've got someone like Ross Whiteley, who is brilliant in the field, bowls a little bit and is one of the more dangerous hitters going around the domestic circuit over here. Someone like Adam Finch, who's a young lad coming out of the England U19s with a fair bit of talent – tall with a bit of pace about him. I think 'Finchy' in particular, he's a guy who is on a lot of radars over here as a 19-year-old, tall, strapping lad, bowls with a bit of air speed so it will be good to see him go about it against this 'A' side and be a good gauge to see where he's at. He hasn't played too much white-ball cricket for Worcester yet but we've got a couple of other young quicks that are missing at the moment with injury that's allowed him to get a chance in the last couple of weeks.

What can you tell us about Kidderminster? It's a shame the game is not at New Road but you can't help it when the outfield is underwater!

That's extraordinary. I've never seen anything like it. There's still two park benches out in the middle of the ground. It's unbelievable. It's starting to dry out, which is good. Kidderminster, there's a couple of areas in the ground I'm a bit worried about because it's sort of six and lost! So hopefully we've got some spare balls available because if you look at both sides there's a wide range of big hitters. Get some spare boxes of balls, I reckon. It'll be interesting to see how the wicket is. The guys say it can have some bounce and carry in it. In the recent four-day game the ball stood up quite nicely at times but it's probably on the slower side though. I've only played one game there which was the four-day game there recently. The outfield is absolutely lightning when it's warm. It could be quite high scoring if the pitch is half decent.  

How are you going to stop Matt Wade?

That's a very good question. I think there are plenty of bowling attacks around the Australia and over here that are probably asking the same question or having nightmares in recent history. He's someone that you’ve got to bowl very well to or he's going to hurt you quite badly. We'll be looking to make sure that everyone is well aware where his strengths and weaknesses are and do as well as we can to avoid the strengths. You don't want to be giving him too much width so he can free his arms up. We'll be trying to keep away from those red flag zones. We've all seen it over the last few years in all formats, he's a guy with an enormous amount of confidence at the moment and he's a fantastic cricketer. To be honest, I'm actually looking forward to watching him bat because having heard and seen what he's done in the last few games it's been pretty impressive.

Finally, how's your own form? How are you hitting them?

I feel like I'm batting quite well at the moment. There have been a lot of low-scoring games since the one-day stuff finished. I started in the one-dayers so I missed the start of the season, but I feel like I've been batting well. I've had a lot of good starts since the one-day stuff finished and got 50-odd in the first innings of the last game. So I feel I'm hitting the ball OK and moving pretty well. It was nice to get some runs in the one-dayers leading into the summer as well. I feel like I'm moving OK and really looking forward to getting a chance to take on the Aussie boys, who by the looks of the squad and with Patto (James Pattinson) coming back in as well, it's going to be a red-hot Aussie A attack. It'll be good fun to take on that challenge. 

Australia A tour of the UK

Get live scores and all the latest news from Australia A's tour of the UK on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Matthew Wade, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Mitch Marsh (vc), D'Arcy Short, Kurtis Patterson, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Sean Abbott, Andrew Tye

Australia A four-day squad: Tim Paine (c), Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head (vc), Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jon Holland, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Chris Tremain

One-day fixtures:

June 20: Australia A beat Northamptonshire by six wickets

June 23: Australia A beat Derbyshire by seven wickets

June 25: Australia A v Worcestershire, Kidderminster CC

June 30: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol

July 2: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol

Four-day fixtures:

July 7-10: Australia A v Sussex, Arundel

July 13-16: Australia A v England Lions, Canterbury

July 23-26: Australia v Australia A, Hampshire