James Neesham is one of the most underrated cricketers in the world and yet he is one of the best fast bowling all rounders in the world. He has served New Zealand cricket for a lot of years and he has done it with distinction. He has done well in all 3 formats of the sport. He is playing in the 2023 World Cup. He has played 12 Test Matches for New Zealand and in those he has scored 709 runs and he has made 2 Test Hundreds. He has played 78 ODIs as of this moment and he has made 1495 runs at an average of 28.21. And in the 69 T20IS he has played he has made 824 runs. Similarly he has taken 14 Wickets in Test Cricket, 71 Wickets in ODIs and 35 in T20Is.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Performances of James Neesham
1) 137* vs India (2014)
This was his first test match and it was the second innings where the match was in the balance. He was batting lower down the order. He made a sublime 137 not out from just 152 balls at a very good strike of 89. He smashed 20 fours in this innings meaning 80 runs in boundaries. He ran for 57 of his runs and yet he had such a great strike rate. By this innings he showed the world that he was here to stay and he was at his attacking best in this innings. The match was a draw but Jimmy Neesham had arrived as an all rounder.
2) 107 vs West Indies (2014)
His second test hundred came in his second test match and it was against West Indies. New Zealand were batting first and he came to bat in the middle order. New Zealand were in a spot of bother but he steered the ship as he made 107 brilliant runs from 171 balls. In this innings he has a strike rate of 62.57 and he hit 11 fours and 2 sixes meaning 56 runs in boundaries. This was an amazing innings under pressure and he became the hottest cricketer in the world as everyone was talking about how talented he was. Due to this amazing innings, New Zealand won this match by 186 runs.
3) 5/31 vs Afghanistan (2019)
His first 5 Wicket Haul was in the 2019 World Cup in England. It was in a match against Afghanistan. Afghanistan were batting first and they were all out for 172. Jimmy Neesham was the best bowler as in the 10 overs that he bowled in this match he took 5 Wickets and he only gave away 31 runs which is at 3.1 runs per over. This was a spell that the world saw and went why he was not bowling like this all the time. Afghanistan lost this match by 7 wickets.
4) 5/27 vs Bangladesh (2021)
This was his best bowling spell in international cricket. This was in a match against Bangladesh and it was in 2021. Jimmy Neesham was in his element and in this match Bangladesh were batting second. Jimmy Neesham Bowled just 7 e overs in this match and he took 5 Wickets for 27 runs and he gave away 5 runs per over. Jimmy Neesham was one of the best fast bowling all rounders in the world. New Zealand won this match by 164 runs.
5) 48* vs West Indies (2020)
This was his best T20I innings in his career. This was in the year 2020. This was in a match against West Indies and this was brutal batting at his very best. In this innings he had a strike rate of 200 and he smashed 5 fours and 3 sixes meaning 32 runs In boundaries. New Zealand won this match by 5 wickets and Jimmy Neesham proved that he was great in his element.
Also Read: Best innings of Nathan Astle
