6, 6, 6, 6, 2nb, 6, 1: Jimmy Neesham Slams 34 in an Over vs SL
Playing for NZ after 18 months, the Kiwi all-rounder smashes the joint third-most runs in an over in ODI history.
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How does one mark a return to international cricket after 18 months on the sidelines? Well, if you’re Jimmy Neesham, you take 34 runs from an over!
The New Zealand all-rounder, playing his first ODI since June 2017, launched into Thisara Perera as the Kiwis kick-started their three-match series against Sri Lanka by piling on a giant total of 371/7 in the opening game at Mount Maunganui.
Neesham belted five sixes off the first five legitimate deliveries of the 49th over – and with Perera also having been no-balled for an above waist height full toss in between, the left-hander was poised to break the world record for the most runs in a single over.
Perera, who himself holds the record for the second-most runs hit off an over, spared himself the ignominy by keeping Neesham down to one run off the final ball.
Neesham, a regular fixture in franchise T20 cricket across the globe, has been out of favour with the national selectors across all formats, and didn’t play a single international match through 2018.
However, the 28-year-old will now boast of the joint third-biggest tally of runs scored in a single over in 50-over cricket.
Neesham was’nt done for the day – he went on to take 3/38 from eight overs as New Zealand claimed a 45-run win by bowling the Lankans out for 326 in reply.
Most Runs in an Over in ODIs
- 1. Herschelle Gibbs: 36 off Daan van Bunge (SA vs NED, St. Kitts, 2007)
- 2. Thisara Perea: 35 off Robin Peterson (SL vs SA,Pallekele, 2013)
- T3. AB de Villiers: 34 off Jason Holder (SA vs WI, Sydney, 2015)
- T3. Jimmy Neesham: 34 off Thisara Perera (NZ vs SL, Mount Maunganui, 2019)
- 5. Shahid Afridi: 32 off Malinga Bandara (PAK vs SL, Abu Dhabi, 2007)