The New Zealand Allrounder James Neesham has surpassed his skipper Kane Williamson to score the most runs in an over by a Kiwi batsman in ODIs. Neesham, playing his first international match after a gap of 17 months, scored 34 runs from the penultimate over of the innings against Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Mount Maunganui to remain unbeaten on 47 off 13 and power New Zealand to 371 for 7 in 50 overs.
Thisara Perera was as the receiving end as he conceded five sixes, a double off a no ball and a single for Neesham to top Williamson’s 31 in an over against Canada in 2010. Neesham joins AB de Villiers for the third most numbers of runs scored in an ODI, behind Herschelle Gibbs’ 36 against the Netherlands in the 2007 World Cup and Perera’s 35 against South Africa at Pallekele in 2013.
5 sixes in 5 balls by Jimmy Neesham pic.twitter.com/VhH1EXLgU8
— Cricket 360 (@Cricket3601) January 3, 2019
In the 48th over, Neesham smashed the first five deliveries for a maximum. The first ball was a length ball and the southpaw whacked it towards cow corner. The next two were deposited straight back past the bowler, over long on and slightly straight. The fourth was a full toss, once against deposited over cow corner again. With the pressure mounting, Perera erred and bowled one over waist high – a no ball and two runs were taken. He pulled his length back on the next ball and the result was another six, on the roof over long-on. A world record in sight, Perera got a yorker in which resulted in only a single.
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Neesham’s strike rate read 361.53, the second-highest for a New Zealand batsman in an innings.
Highest strike-rate in an innings (New Zealand):
Having last played international cricket during the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, the all-rounder got back to the national squad with a successful 2018-19 Ford Trophy followed by two games for New Zealand A versus India A last month.
Neesham finished as the second highest run-scorer of the Ford Trophy with 503 from 11 innings at an average of 71 and strike-rate of 110.79, with two centuries – the only of his List A career – and three half-centuries. Neesham’s seam bowling has been handy as well, with 13 wickets at an economy of 5.81.
The flashy all-rounder had lost his place in September 2017 after managing a solitary half-century in 11 ODIs that year and only four wickets.
