"Didn't help having Jos Buttler in the room next to me for two months in India" - James Neesham recalls 2019 World Cup final loss
New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham admitted that sharing a dressing room with Jos Buttler enhanced his agony after the 2019 World Cup final. Neesham stated that he will never get past that defeat and believes no player can get over it.
The seam-bowling all-rounder was in the thick of the final between England and New Zealand three years ago at Lord's. The southpaw batted in the Super Over bowled by Jofra Archer, but failed to take the Kiwis over the line. With the Super Over tied too, England won the final due to a superior boundary count.
Kids, don’t take up sport. Take up baking or something. Die at 60 really fat and happy.
Speaking to The Cricketer, Neesham said having Jos Buttler in the same dressing room for two months in India while playing for the Rajasthan Royals rubbed salt on his wounds. While the Kiwi has said he will never get over that fixture, he has accepted it as part of his career.
He said:
"In that respect it probably didn't help having Jos Buttler in the room next to me for two months in India! But yeah, that's the sort of thing… I'll never be over that. I don't think anyone gets over something like that. It's just a case of owning it and accepting it as part of my career.
"I'll probably be at speaking functions or in bars getting asked about it for the rest of my life, and that’s just the way it is. It would have been ideal for it to finish the other way around. But it has opened up a few doors for me in different aspects as well. So you take the good with the bad."
It's worth noting that Buttler affected the run-out of Martin Guptill that resulted in England's first World Cup victory. Apart from scoring 31 runs in the memorable game, Neesham also picked up three wickets.
"It was pretty much the worst thing that can happen to someone in a cricket career" - James Neesham
The Auckland-born player feels overcoming the heartbreak of the World Cup final loss gives him the confidence to survive anything and is happy to take every opportunity as it comes. Neesham added:
"The World Cup finishing the way it did, it was pretty much the worst thing that can happen to someone in a cricket career. To survive that and keep moving forward gives you the confidence to know you can pretty much survive anything.
"I just turn up to tournaments like the Blast, have a smile on my face, try to hit some sixes, and contribute to the team winning matches."
He added:
"And if that doesn't happen then I'm more than happy to move on to the next thing. I'm 31 years old now – as an allrounder you never know when your last season’s coming up. So I try to treat each tournament as a gift, and what happens happens."
335 days.
Neesham was also part of the 2021 T20 World Cup final against Australia. However, the Black Caps lost by eight wickets to their Trans-Tasman rivals. He started the countdown for the next T20 World Cup by tweeting "335 days" following the final on November 14 in Dubai.