Jimmy Neesham
Jimmy Neesham is one of the most destructive Cricket players in the world right now and has the ability to be a real game changer with his batting or bowling. A current New Zealand Cricket player, Jimmy has played all over the world and has experienced the highs and lows that comes with being a professional sportsman.
Neesham scored a century on his Test debut for New Zealand at the age of 22, living up to his potential. The Blackcap fans were hopeful they had found the best all-rounder for the next decade. However, over the course of five years, he went from being a regular member of the team and playing in the IPL, to a string of mixed performances, a number poorly timed injuries, losing his New Zealand contract, missing out on the 2015 World Cup squad, cumulating to having the infamous “two-week break” from cricket after being dropped from his domestic team.
2018 saw the start of the comeback journey for Neesham. This began with getting away from the game completely and doing a marketing role in the farming industry. He then found the love of the game again and fast forward twelve months he had the weight of the nation on his shoulders walking out to face the ‘Super-Over’ in the 2019 World Cup Final. Only inches away from going down as one of New Zealand’s greatest sporting heroes. In this episode, Jimmy starts by talking to host van Beek about what was going through his head during the famous ‘Super-Over’, and then takes it back to the years leading up to that epic sporting moment. To the biggest learnings of his early years of international cricket; “Two week break” the turning point in his career; dealing with negative emotions and to what motivates him moving forward.
Chapters
o Preview to the 2019/20 SuperSmash T20 competiton(5:18)
o Favourite format of Cricket(5:47)
o 2019 World Cup Final – “The Super Over”(6:31)
o 2019 World Cup Reflection(12:12)
o Why did you choose Cricket?(14:28)
o Your mindset going into International Cricket(17:31)
o Biggest learnings of your first taste of International Cricket(20:24)
o Test Debut – “Brendon McCullum’s 300”(22:07)
o “Two Week Break” – the turning point in your career(25:27)
o What Mental Skills did you learn/incorporate into your comeback?(41:53)
o What motivates you moving forward in your career?(48:54)
o Dealing with Negative Emotions(52:12)
o Lessons from World Class players around the World?(56:11)
o Who is Jimmy Neesham outside of Cricket?(59:33)
o Career after Cricket(1:01:20)