Lockie Ferguson might be a really good fit to front the fast bowler's remix of a Meghan Trainor song. All about that bass was about body positivity. All about that pace can be about speed sensitivity.
The post-match press conference after New Zealand beat Afghanistan to open their T20 World Cup campaign in Chennai will work as an audition tape, particularly the bit where he was faux annoyed the media hadn't noticed that he has accepted the virtues of operating below 150kph.
In response to a question about bringing the knuckle ball out of his locker, Ferguson said "I bowled two today, didn't you guys see that?" Blank stares. "One was a yorker." Scattered muttering. "Tough crowd, jeez.
"But yeah look, I've learnt to develop my game - over here I found that IPL players are very good at picking up back of the hand slow balls. I've worked on a ball where my wrist doesn't change too much. It comes out good sometimes, not so good others. Sometimes people don't see it so that's disappointing."
Lockie so salty.
There was once a time when the variation in his pace was unintentional. At the start of his career, his second spells weren't as sharp as his first. He had to work to keep up his levels. New Zealand do their bit to help him out as well. On Sunday, they convinced Chris Donaldson to put his Olympic level sprinting experience to use, chasing after Ferguson on the boundary line, feeding him liquids and tossing him his towel.
This was just after he picked up two wickets in the last over of the Powerplay to shift the balance away from Afghanistan. One of them - off that long, bustling run-up to the crease - was a back-of-the-hand slower ball that Rahmanullah Gurbaz inside edged onto his stumps.
Lockie so sneaky.
"Obviously with the way I bowl, it's important to keep running in and bowling quick so that change-ups when it does happen becomes more of a surprise.
Ferguson has played 82 T20s for New Zealand teams and 117 for various others from all around the world. The UAE game on Tuesday will be his 200th match. At 34 years old - the same age Trent Boult retired from T20Is, effectively ending his international career - it is quite something that Ferguson is thinking about adding more to his kit rather than putting down his tools.
"You play the same players often so they get a read on you and you're always trying to stay one step ahead," he said. "Particularly in this part of the world where the wickets are so good, you need to change the ball in the air or off the surface. So I think it's something we work very hard on. Picking and choosing the times to use them is sometimes a challenge."
Ferguson has played eight seasons of the IPL, picking up 51 wickets at an average of 30 and economy rate of 8.97. His knuckle ball did get on prime time television when he bowled Shivam Dube with it in a game between Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings last year and may capture the airwaves once again by the time this T20 World Cup ends. He is a vital part of the New Zealand bowling attack and prior to arriving in India, he made clear his desire to keep playing for them even beyond this tournament. Ferguson will be taking a little break though to head home for the birth of his child, due on February 20.
"I still feel fit. I still feel like I'm contributing. I think if there's ever a day I wake up and I'm not contributing to a win or if I don't think I'm deserving of playing for the team then yeah I'd put my boots on the wall but at this stage I still think I'm one of the best and I'm ready to perform at a World Cup and am looking forward to it."