One of the most impactful and destructive batters in the shorter formats of the game, James Neesham from New Zealand, made his mark in his very first outing at Season 2 of Zim Afro T10. The New Zealander dug his team (Harare Bolts) out of a spot of bother in the chase against the Cape Town Samp Army, scoring 30 from 16, to clinch a thrilling win on the opening day.
Reflecting on the knock and the win, Neesham, who is no stranger to high pressure situations at the highest level, said, “The atmosphere was good. Always an advantage playing in front of a home crowd, so hopefully that will be an advantage for us moving forward. The mood is good in the dressing room. It’s very early in the tournament though so we’re keeping our feet on the ground and looking forward to the next game tomorrow.”
“T10 is about picking your moments to attack and making it count. We were lucky today that our bowlers kept the target down so there was never any real run rate pressure during the chase,” he added.
Neesham, who is well known not only for his cricketing abilities but his witty social media activity, is not alien to the T10 format. The New Zealander explained that while the format has its challenges, he expects it to grow.
“The toughest aspect (of T10) is how short it is. There’s no chance to find form or fix problems, you just have to go out and be aggressive and hope it comes off,” he said.
“I think T10 is a great way to grow the game of cricket. It’s a festival atmosphere, which makes it great to play in places that aren’t traditionally cricket countries. I see it developing a bit like the global rugby Sevens series, where you have competitions each weekend in different cities in the world. That’d be great.”
For Neesham and the Harare Bolts, the aim is understandably to go all the way. And he said, “The Zim Afro T10 seems great so far. It’s my first experience here, but the games have been great, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops.”