Jimmy Neesham marked his return to the New Zealand one-day international side with a remarkable 47 not out off 13 balls, which included 34 runs off one Thisara Perera over.
The over, the 49th of the New Zealand innings in their first ODI against Sri Lanka on Thursday, 3 January, went for 6, 6, 6, 6, 2nb, 6, 1, much to the delight of the crowd.
It was third on the list of most expensive overs ever in the format, behind Herschelle Gibbs’ six sixes against the Netherlands and Perera’s 35 runs against South Africa, and tied with AB de Villiers’ efforts against the Windies.
It meant Perera now has both struck and conceded 30-plus runs in an over. Having started the fateful over with very respectable figures of 9-0-46-2, he finished with 10-0-80-2.
First, Neesham latched onto a length ball from Perera and smacked it over the mid-wicket fence. Perera looked for the yorker, but the result was the same. The fielder was again a few feet from the ball, but couldn’t do a thing.
Off the third delivery, the batsman belted one back over the bowler’s head. Then, when Perera went for the low full toss, it was hit over mid-wicket again. The bowler went around the wicket, only to send down a waist-high no-ball. Two runs put Neesham back on strike and the free hit was dispatched for another massive six onto the roof.
He was denied six sixes, however, as Perera finally got it right with a low full toss. The batting strike rate of 361.53 is the highest for anyone facing more than 10 balls. - ICC
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