Image Credit- AFP
James Neesham could already see it was going to look a
lot like 2019 as he was leaving. Building on Rachin Ravindra’s century and
Daryl Mitchell’s half-century, Neesham had put New Zealand within striking
distance of tying an Australian chase of 389.
Neesham was unable to send a thigh-high full toss into
the seats this time, as he was on 57 off 38, penalising any mistake in length
up until that point and now needed seven off two. It was simply too close to
him; he was presumably positioning himself to penalise a shortcoming. After
hitting clean to deep midwicket, he returned for a last-ditch effort because he
was accompanied by a No. 10.
Because of the somewhat delayed throw, Josh Inglis had
to stray from his mark in order to collect. Neesham still required a prayer and
a dive. In the end, he dove in sheer desperation, only to be caught short when
Inglis dove in unison for the stumps. The third umpire made the decision, and
Neesham was forced to endure the misery of watching the replay on the big
screen.
Neesham was sufficiently reminded of the World Cup
final in 2019, when Martin Guptill attempted a similar second to win it but was
run out, tying the game but losing on a boundary countback. Is this level of
cruelty necessary for the game?
“Actually, that [2019 final] was the first thing
I thought of when I was coming off, that it’s going to look very, very
similar,” Neesham said. “I mean that’s the nature isn’t it? You want
to be desperate, I suppose, in those situations and you’d much rather get run
out on your stomach than on your feet.”
While there were moments in this game that were
distinctly un-New Zealand, such as Matt Henry bowling consecutive no-balls,
Neesham bowling that over, and catches falling, their return was
characteristically New Zealand. At least by persevering and giving themselves a
chance, by deciding not to give up, they have prevented a catastrophic decline
in their net run rate. In the end, this might mean the difference between
playing India in a home semifinal and not playing India. Really, all they can
do is persevere, stay true to their procedures, and hope that one day the
cricket gods will be kind to them.
For now, though, Neesham is not asking kids to not
take up cricket.