Jimmy Neesham contemplated retirement post Champions Trophy debacle in 2017

Jimmy Neesham, the New Zealand all-rounder is all set for his first ever World Cup appearance as he was chosen by the New Zealand Cricket to board the flight to England and Wales with the Black Caps team. This good news comes after a tough eighteen months of self-pondering and even contemplating retirement from the game at one time.

Neesham had made his NZ debut in 2014 and has played 12 Tests, 49 ODIs and 15 T20Is for them. He scored a Test century on debut and has made 709 runs in Tests, 1015 runs in ODIs and 122 runs in T20Is. He also has 14 wickets in Tests, 44 wickets in ODIs and 11 wickets in T20I matches. Considered one of the brightest prospects of the game, Neesham came very close to retiring from the game.

Neesham’s downward spiral after ICC Champions Trophy 2017

“I’m not much of a communicator at the best of times, I’m not sure many New Zealand blokes are, and just being able to talk through a few of the struggles I was having off the field [was good],” Neesham was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.

The all-rounder considered retiring from the game and only talk with Heath Mills, the players’ association chief, helped him turn things around and get back on road in cricket. “He convinced me to take a little break and come back three or four weeks later, and obviously, from there I’ve been able to make progress steadily and come back into the fold with Wellington and make this team as well and it’s been a surreal rise, I guess,” Neesham was quoted saying.

Neesham moved from Otago to Wellington last winter, a move that helped him set things on track after eighteen months of struggle, which saw him miss a lot of time from the game. This helped him relit the fire he had for cricket and said that he wanted to score hundreds in domestic cricket and dominate it. But not scoring runs put him in a downward spiral and pressure just built on him.

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