Jimmy Neesham wants to revert to his old 'carefree' approach

Having made a comeback into the Test squad after almost a year, New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham hopes to put behind all his injury woes and prove himself in the forthcoming 3-match series against India. Following a productive limited-overs stint with Derbyshire, he has returned to full fitness. However, the challenge of playing on pitches which turn square right from the outset awaits the 25-year old.

Neesham felt, “The main result for me (from his experience in Derbyshire) was I got through the whole season uninjured and basically had no issues with the back at all. So, I suppose the aim now is to get the loading up again and make them good enough for Test cricket.”

Looking back at his previous Test appearance, he noted, “It was more tweaking little things. We did a lot of work on the rehab prior to the Australian series last year and were pretty comprehensive on that side of things.

“But I think over in Derby it was more about, I suppose, finding what works and what doesn't, and changing up especially the gym program a little bit - basically making cricket the number-one priority as opposed to regaining the strength base and fitness base which it was before Australia.”

A clean striker of the ball, the left-hander averages 38.25 from 9 matches with two tons. In the bowling department, his seam-up has fetched him 12 wickets at an average of 39.33. With Corey Anderson ruled out due to a back injury, Neesham will be keen on capitalizing on the opportunity.

Emphasizing on his game-play, the Auckland-born cricketer quipped, “I’m basically looking to go back to how I played when I first came in to international cricket. I think I was a bit more carefree and a bit more, I suppose, laissez faire especially with batting and then once you start feeling the pressure of international cricket and wanting results and wanting runs, it can curb your game a little bit which I think is one of the traps I fell into.”

New Zealand have a three-day warm-up match against Mumbai at Feroz Shah Kotla before the first Test begins at Kanpur from the 22^nd. With a 1-1 draw (in 1969) being their best ever result on Indian soil, they will be yearning to create history this time around.