Domestic Cricket Daily: The Jimmy Neesham Show
Wellington Firebirds have booked their place in the Ford Trophy final vs Otago Volt, thanks mainly to Ollie Newton's 5 wickets and then Jimmy Neesham's big ol' century. Auckland Aces were first to bat and after Newton sent the top-four back to the sheds within 10 overs, the Aces middle and lower order dragged their team up to 236 all out in 47.5ov.
The lack of firepower in the Aces bowling group then saw them struggle to contain Wellington, although the typically impressive Ben Lister did give the Aces a sniff by dismissing the Firebirds openers in the first 5ov. Devon Conway (42) and Michael Bracewell (41) settled the innings as they both passed 40, but after Conway was dismissed in the 18th over it became the Jimbo show as Neesham blasted 12 fours and 5 sixes to finish on 120* off 107 deliveries.
Neesham led the Firebirds to their target in 48.1ov, losing 7w in the process. This knock from Neesham was merely a continuation of his Ford Trophy dominance and while the run-scoring rankings do get a bit skewed in finals cricket given the extra games they play, Neesham has bumped himself up 2nd in runs; 10inns, 497 runs, 71avg/110.69sr, 2 x 100, 3 x 50.
To offer some context, Neesham is 2nd to Andrew Fletcher who has been in sizzling form throughout the Ford Trophy and has 3 x 100, 3 x 50. If Neesham can somehow squeeze out another century - or even a halfie - in the final, he'll make a strong case for being the best Ford Trophy batsmen; aided by that crazy strike-rate.
Also noteworthy is Neesham now being ranked 7th in bowling after he took the key wicket of Mark Chapman - even if it was a bouncer down the leg-side. Neesham has 13w @ 28.07 and only five bowlers have more than 13w, two of which are Neesham's Firebirds comrades Hamish Bennett and Newton.
In a mark of Wellington's quality and the reason why I reckon they'll win the final, neither Bennett nor Fletcher was overly influential in this game. Bennett only took 1w @ 4.53rpo and his lone wicket was that of Lister, batting #11 for Auckland, while Fletcher was out for 2 in the first over. Instead of the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker dominating the elimination final, Wellington relied on their next best and if it wasn't Neesham it could have Devon Conway who scored the runs.
Newton now sits in 3rd for the bowlers, with 18w @ 16.16avg/4.31rpo. That means that Wellington have two bowlers averaging under 20, to go with two batsmen averaging over 60. Without Logan van Beek, Newton has filled the void of partnering Bennett and Newton has now taken 5w twice in his last 4inns.
With such a dominant display from Neesham, in the context of his emphatic Ford Trophy campaign, it's hard not to let your mind drift off into Blackcaps ideas. That doesn't mean Neesham should be slotted straight into the Blackcaps ODI team this summer, however Neesham can't do much more to put himself in the mix for squad selection and that's a nice vibe considering that this time last year Neesham was having a geeze at cricketing oblivion.
Wellington won't need Neesham to fire in the final as they have multiple threats worthy of attention. A Ford Trophy final against his old team though, sounds like a funky platform for Neesham to make a strong contribution again with bat or ball. The final is down in Dunedin on Saturday and despite the home advantage for Otago, leaning against this Firebirds team doesn't feel right.
Hit an ad to support the Domestic Cricket Daily.
Or jump on Patreon and support the Niche Cache directly, we drop bonus stuff for the Patrons and take care of the homies.
Peace and love 27.