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After impressive T20 outing in Dunedin, Jimmy Neesham loving cricket as much as ever

The Black Cap was on fire with both bat and ball in the thrilling four-run win in Dunedin.

Jimmy Neesham jokes that he was a little hard done by in not getting man of the match after his crucial role in another Black Caps win over Australia in Dunedin.

Neesham starred for New Zealand, first with the bat, belting six sixes in a brutal 16 ball knock.

Then with the ball, he was called on to bowl the last over where he removed the rollicking Aussie duo of Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams, effectively winning the match for the Black Caps.

“The top order batsmen always get the plaudits, don’t they?” a grinning Neesham told 1 NEWS.

“I gave him a bit of stick about it after the game, but more importantly (we) went two-nil up in the series and obviously really good to see Gup (Martin Guptill) come back to form. He’s been hitting it really well in the nets, just good to see that come to fruition in the game.”

Guptill had earlier broken the shackles with a blistering knock of his own, 97 off 50, setting the platform for New Zealand’s 219/7.

The last over saw the tourists needing 15, the exact same equation as the 2019 World Cup Super Over, which Neesham also bowled - we don’t need to tell you what happened there.

“It was the exact equation was it? I wondered how the World Cup would come up today,” the all-rounder quipped.

“That would’ve been nice. But no, I didn’t know about that at the time, it’s not something you really think about, you’re probably in a little bit of trouble if you’re at the top of your mark thinking about the World Cup final when you’re trying to bowl the last ball of a T20, but I was just trying to keep it simple and bowl yorkers.”

He did just that, one of the highlights of the Black Caps win.

And there have been a few for Neesham in the past few years, since he took time away from the game in 2018 as he struggled mentally.

Neesham’s said previously the move north from Otago to Wellington helped turn things around and he’s the happiest he’s been on the park.

“Never loved it more,” Neesham was quick to say.

“I had dinner with (Black Caps leg spinner) Ish Sodhi and we talked about how we’ve both come through some trials and tribulations and he’s obviously had his issues with his action and he was obviously coming through them at the same time.

"We’ve played a lot of cricket together and spent a lot of time together and we were just sort of talking about how much we’ve enjoyed each other’s success and hopefully it can continue for a more years yet.”

They’ll try and enjoy it even more by beating Australia in game three in Wellington on Wednesday and wrap up the T20 series with two matches remaining.

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