“Just had a wee son, trying to spend as much time as I can at home and help the wife out,” Ferguson said in Auckland before the third T20I against South Africa. “I’ll have a few weeks off after this, before sort of heading to the later stages of the IPL and away for the winter.

“Always a pleasure playing for the Black Caps, really enjoyed my time in India with the group again and unfortunate the injuries played out earlier in the season. Really wanted to play some home cricket and feel just privileged to be able to play in front of the home crowd.”

“Cricket, in general, is on the up, which is amazing,” Ferguson said. “Sometimes the hard part is selecting when to take a rest. So, picking this time, which I think is pretty fair, considering the wife was looking after the baby when I was in the World Cup. So, no, really looking forward to some time at home and then back into some cricket after that.”

While Ferguson, who doesn’t have a central contract, suggested he is evaluating his international future on a “tournament-by-tournament” basis, he is eager to keep representing the Black Caps and have a crack at the 2027 ODI World Cup and the 2028 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

“They thought this was my last game (laughs). No, I’m still very committed to play for New Zealand,” Ferguson said. “I really enjoyed my time with the group in India. I feel the squad we have got together has a lot of high expectations within our group. We obviously didn’t quite get it done in India, but at the same time a lot to be proud of from that tournament.

“Looking forward to the next two World Cups, there’s a great opportunity for our squad. I’m still keen at this stage for sure. Obviously, it’s a few months and a few games away, but I’m working very hard to make sure I’m on the park and playing at high quality so that I can hopefully add value to that team.”

“I think it’s exciting that there’s a prospect at a franchise tournament,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any player who would say no to a franchise tournament in our country. We have a lot of talent here, we have a beautiful country to showcase. I think the standard of cricket we play here is amazing, the fans we have is awesome, so it’s exciting.

“Obviously, I’ve travelled the world and played leagues all around, and I think the level of cricket we have in New Zealand is on par with all of those, if not at times better, considering the small nation we have, it’s pretty epic. So, any opportunity we can promote that worldwide and provide more opportunities for players who are coming through, our younger players, to showcase their talents on a world stage is awesome.”