The South Australian right-hander is putting himself through an arduous week of boxing in Warrnambool as part of his pre-season preparations.

The trip is a second for Ferguson, 29, who visited Warrnambool 12 months ago. Redbacks teammate Travis Head, 20, has joined him for the week.

“I felt last year when I came it really tested me, got me out of my comfort zone and took me to some dark places,” Ferguson said yesterday.

“Which is exactly what you want when you’re trying to get better at anything you’re doing. I felt like it taught me some skills in that area.”

The week also opened his eyes to the relationship between boxing and batting. Both require combatants to be light on their feet and fluid in their movement.

“When I found myself in some physically demanding situations, I had a better handle on the situation, how my body would react, what I could get through,” he said.

“Particularly when we went to India, we had some testing training situations with the Aussies in the heat when we first got over there.

“I felt like I got through that better because I came down here. We trained pretty hard with the Australian side and it was a pretty warm period over there.”

Another chance to represent Australia — this time in the World Cup — is driving Ferguson to get as much out of himself as possible.

Winning a berth in the squad to contest the 2015 tournament, in February and March, is firmly on the radar of one-day specialists.

Ferguson’s bid for selection starts with playing for Australia A at a quad-series against India A, South Africa A and a national performance squad in Brisbane in July.

“Obviously travelling to the last one in India and not playing was a great experience,” he said.

“It would’ve been great to play but it was a fantastic experience. (And) I feel like I’m in a good space at the moment with my game.

“I feel like I’m at the point where I’m ready to compete and make a good contribution to an Australian side if an opportunity arose.”

While Ferguson is eyeing having an impact for the national side, Head simply wants to reinforce his status as an up-and-coming batsman at state level.

The left-hander started the 2013-14 Sheffield Shield season in style, reaching the 90s three times, but battled after Christmas and did not play the final two matches.

“For me it’s how am I going to take my game to the next level. There’s a bit on the field, there’s a bit off the field, there’s preparation,” he said.

“There are all these things in cricket you can always get better at and being young I experienced that last year.

“I took good steps with what I showed and how I went. I’ve learnt a lot over the last couple of seasons and it is time I take full responsibility.

“It isn’t such a potential thing. I’m there to make runs and we’re there to win a shield and I want to be involved in that.”

afawkes@fairfaxmedia.com.au