Neesham gets chance to shine for World Cup
The race to be New Zealand’s premier allrounder at the 2019 Cricket World Cup begins now.
A day after routing Sri Lanka by a New Zealand-record 423 runs in the second test in Christchurch, which secured the Black Caps a historic fourth consecutive test series triumph, the attention has quickly shifted to white ball mode.
The countdown to the World Cup in England, starting in late May, is firmly under way with New Zealand having 11 ODIs over the home summer to assess fringe contenders and settle on their
15-man squad for the tournament. Their three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka begins on Thursday at Mount Maunganui with the return of allrounder Jimmy Neesham and seamer Doug Bracewell, who can chip in with handy runs, a major talking point. New Zealand have a further five ODIs against India in late January-February and three against Bangladesh in February.
Neesham hasn’t played an ODI since June 2017 at the Champions Trophy and has a big opportunity to enhance his cause.
Incumbent Colin de Grandhomme has been rested for the Sri Lankan ODIs after a busy workload over the past year. Corey Anderson is working his way back from injury with Northern Districts in the Super Smash
T20 competition, which means Neesham has first crack to impress.
Neesham, de Grandhomme, Anderson, and Bracewell could potentially be scrapping for two allrounders berths in the World Cup squad. Anderson played in a
T20 for the Knights against Otago on Sunday in Alexandra, scoring four runs, but isn’t bowling.
After a frustrating season with Otago last summer, where Neesham was dropped during the
T20s and wasn’t at his best, he has flourished since moving to Wellington. Neesham was a crucial figure in the Firebirds’ Ford Trophy 50-over title success preChristmas, finishing as the competition’s second leading run scorer with 503 at 62.87, including two centuries. There have been worries about Neesham’s bowling reliability at international level and economy rate. He showed improvement with the Firebirds, taking 13 wickets in 12 matches at 32, conceding 5.81 runs per over. ‘‘He’s got runs and wickets and he’s bowling with pace,’’ coach Gary Stead said yesterday. ‘‘I think it’s the consistency from all our allrounders that we’re looking for, whether it be Jimmy, Colin, or Corey Anderson.’’
The powerful-hitting de Grandhomme has been spelled for the Sri Lankan ODIs, but there must be a few concerns about his recent ODI efforts.
In New Zealand’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, he made 0 and 3. He had his moments with the ball during the series, taking 3-89 from 22 overs with a pleasing economy rate of 4.04. He struggled in the home ODI series against England in February-March, hitting just 72 runs at 14.40 from five innings with a highest score of 38. With the ball, he nabbed one wicket which cost 111 runs
Bracewell is in line for his first ODI in over a year and will be desperate to make the most of his recall. ‘‘It’s a big series for a lot of people,’’ Stead said.
The audition for allrounders spots isn’t the only key storyline against Sri Lanka.
Legspinner Ish Sodhi is the only frontline spinner named for the series with Mitchell Santner, who has returned to elite cricket with the Knights in the T20 Super Smash having recovered from knee surgery in March, a possibility for the Indian ODIs.
Gloveman Tim Seifert, who has played seven T20 internationals, will make his ODI debut at Bay Oval with Tom Latham, after his 264 not out and 176 in the test series, given a deserved break.