Jimmy Neesham: Job done? I don’t think so

Jimmy Neesham nearly quit the game after being dropped from New Zealandrsquos oneday squad in 2017 but four years later he now stands on the cusp of Twenty20 World Cup gloryHistory beckons for New Zealand and Neesham after he became an unlikely matchwinner in his teamrsquos remarkable win over England in the first semifinal on WednesdayNeesham smashed an 11ball 27 in New Zealandrsquos tense chase of 167 and then sat calmly in the dugout amid the celebrations after Daryl Mitchell hit the winning boundary in his unbeaten 72 The photos of the moment went viral on social media and Indian website ESPNcricinfo captioned it ldquoJimmy Neesham didnrsquot moverdquo to which the allrounder replied ldquoJob finished I donrsquot think sordquoThe viral image of Jimmy Neesham sitting left who did not move an inch amidst an ecstatic NZ dugout after beating England in the semisThe spotlight remains on Neesham 31 who came close to delivering the Kiwis the 50 over World Cup trophy in 2019The allrounder a lefthand batsman who bowls mediumpace scored 13 runs off five balls in a super over during the dramatic final which England won Neesham also took three wickets and was involved in the final ball run out to level the scores on 241 before the super over also ended in a tie Hosts England won on boundary countAlso Read T20 WC Rizwan Shoaib Malik miss training with mild flu ahead of semisNeesham took to humour to pass off their heartbreaking loss and wrote on Twitter ldquoKids donrsquot take up sport Take up baking or something Die at 60 really fat and happyrdquoStrength of characterHe has shown real strength of character since a poor 2017 Champions Trophymdashhe scored one halfcentury in 11 ODI matches and took four wicketsmdashled to him being dropped He later admitted to being frustrated by the turn of events and took help from an Aucklandbased psychologist Paula DennanHe also revealed that Heath Mills the head of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association talked him out of retirement and advised him to ldquotake one game at a timerdquoThe suggestion not only helped him get back to the game he loves but also gave the Black Caps a winner they needed Neesham walked in at 1074 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to turn the game on its head as he hit two sixes and one four off Chris Jordan in the 17th over to stun favourites England Praise has flowed for the Aucklandborn cricketer with skipper Kane Williamson saying Neeshamrsquos knock was the ldquodeciding factorrdquolsquoNever give uprsquoldquoJimmy Neesham was thinking of quitting the game in 2017 and today playing a matchdefining innings to help New Zealand qualify for the finalrdquo Indiarsquos batting great VVS Laxman tweeted ldquoNever give up is the lesson Sport is a great teacherrdquoIndian commentator Harsha Bhogle said ldquoLordrsquos has been overcome Daryl Mitchell And Jimmy Neesham This was worth being here for What a team thisrdquoAlso Read T20 WC Mohammad Rizwan Fakhar Zaman propel Pakistan to 1764 against AustraliaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever