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3 min readFeb 15, 2026 04:31 PM IST
New Zealand's James Neesham plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between South Africa and New Zealand in Ahmedabad , India, Saturday, Feb.14, 2026. (AP Photo/ Ajit Solanki)
The pain just won’t go away. Jimmy Neesham was watching the Afghanistan-South Africa game, waiting to leave for the airport, with the whole New Zealand team delaying the bus, glued to the TV at the hotel, reported Cricinfo. Watching the double tie get resolved logically, Neesham who must’ve been one of many to have not found closure after the 2019 ODI WC final, would have stifled a sniffle.
He told Cricinfo, “It’s good now that you had the opportunity to play a second Super Over when the first one’s a tie. That would have been nice…”
The wordsmith of cricket’s greatest woe – a World Cup decided on a boundary count, denying New Zealand their first ICC 50 Over World title in 2019, as England celebrated, has been hard to process. Neesham, with a wicked wit, had become famous for trying everything and still returning without the Cup because ‘rules are rules.’ The ICC had quietly introduced a second Super Over (or third if needed), after that disaster when nobody’s favourite England won – square, but not fair.
Watching South Africa score 23/0 in their second Super Over and find closure, clearly felt lighter, even if Neesham’s team lost to them in the group game. “Everyone was around the TV in the hotel, delaying the bus, so it was pretty cool to watch. Hopefully there are some more good games like that in the rest of the tournament,” he would tell Cricinfo.
In 2019, after Kane Williamson’s deeply popular New Zealand reached finals, a tie had ensued and was followed by a tied Super Over. The rules were known beforehand, and England won, but they were ridiculous rules nevertheless.
The lyricist of lament had then taken to X, to declare: “Kids, don’t take up sport. Take up baking or something. Die at 60 really fat and happy.”
He isn’t whisking dough though, and was enjoying the thrills of this Wotld Cup.
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“The reason these tournaments are so good is crunch moments like that,” he told Cricinfo. “We’ve seen multiple games in this tournament including England-Nepal, games that go right down to the wire and they have real ramifications for the rest of the tournament.
English (US) ·