World Cup 2019: Jimmy Neesham takes funny dig at skipper Kane Williamson for not getting to bowl after fifer

Sometimes in cricket, the obvious is left to the imagination. On Wednesday, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bowl first against South Africa at Edgbaston in a crucial game of the ICC World Cup. The Black Caps bowler did well to restrict South Africa to 241 for 6 in 49 overs as rain saw the match getting curtailed by an over. However, Williamson did not bowl James Neesham in the match after the all-rounder picked a five-wicket haul in the previous game against Afghanistan in Taunton on June 8. Did the skipper forget about the fifer since New Zealand did not play a game in the last 11 days?

Neesham, a left-hand bat but a right-arm medium fast bowler, picked his first fifer in international cricket against the Afghans by running through the top and middle order. It was a massive turnaround for Neesham in the tournament after he went for quite a few runs against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the previous two matches. Williamson made lavish praise of the bowler saying he bowled “beautifully” and that the 28-year-old deserved all the credit for his “outstanding” show.

However, on Wednesday, Williamson did not give Neesham even one over to bowl at the South Africans even when conditions suited the bowlers. The other all-rounder in the side, Colin de Grandhomme, bowled 10 overs in the game, picking up one for 33. This was the first match in the tournament in which the left-arm pacer bowled full 10 overs.

Neesham perhaps was surprised to not have got an over. After the game, he made a funny dig at his captain by posting a picture on Instagram showing Williamson with a shocking expression. He also came up with a funny caption, saying: “When you realise you totally forgot to bowl Neesh. But seriously, how good is this guy?!?!” Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock is also seen in the background.

 

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When you realise you totally forgot to bowl Neesh ???? – But seriously, how good is this guy?!?! @kane_s_w

A post shared by Jimmy Neesham (@jimmyneesham) on Jun 19, 2019 at 2:15pm PDT

The admiration for his skipper’s patient match-winning innings of 106 not out off 138 balls was clearly showing in Neesham’s words.

Neesham played a crucial role with bat

The all-rounder though played his part with the bat during the chase. He added crucial 57 runs with Williamson for the fifth wicket after a determined South Africa reduced the Kiwis to 80 for 4. Neesham made 23 off 34 balls and after his dismissal, Grandhomme chipped in with a 47-ball 60 to pave the way for victory. New Zealand won by four wickets to go to the top of the points table.