NZ vs Aus: Still a leg-side dominant player, want to expand my game, says Neesham
Feb 26, 2021
Auckland [New Zealand], February 26 : New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham on Friday said that he is still looking to improve his game as he still remains a leg-side dominant player.
Neesham has been in tremendous form as he played a quickfire 45-run knock off just 16 balls with the help of one four and six 6s against Australia in the second T20I to help the Kiwis to post a mammoth 219/7 on the board.
Before the series against Australia commenced, Neesham was picked by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs 50 lakh.
"It's probably not good enough in the modern-day and age to be a guy who just stands there and tries to hit sixes over long-on and cow corner. I think you have to be a little bit more nuanced than that. It's sort of something I've been working on. I'm still quite a leg-side dominant player," ESPNCricinfo quoted Neesham as saying.
"I'm trying to expand my game as much as I can. Those sorts of shots, when you think of the very, very best players in the world, guys like Jos Buttler and the like, they can hit the ball 360 degrees around the park. It's certainly something that you try and develop and it's something that I'm trying to bring into my game," he added.
Australia needed 15 runs off the final over to win the second T20I, but Neesham managed to defend the total and the Kiwis ended up registering a narrow 3-run victory to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
"I knew pretty early on that it was probably going to be me to bowl it. I was just trying to keep it really simple, trying to bowl yorkers. Dunedin is obviously a really small ground so you need a little bit of luck and in that capacity I think one of the better yorkers I actually bowled Marcus Stoinis managed to still get out of the park so when that happens you just shrug your shoulders and try and hit the next one," said Neesham.
New Zealand and Australia will now lock horns in the third T20I of the five-match series on Wednesday in Wellington.
