Neesham: Change of pace was key

New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham took three wickets on his Kent Spitfires debut and said an eight-hour practice at The County Ground on Saturday laid the foundation for Sunday’s win against Essex Eagles.

The seamer took 3/37 and played a part in three wickets in his final over: taking two wickets and fine a run-out to restrict Essex to 166.

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The 26-year-old left-hander said: “We had a long training session at the ground on Saturday and we found if you bowled full pace, it was easier to hit so we decided we would go for change of pace.

“[Adam] Milney came back really well in his second spell and halted the momentum they had going with Ravi [Bopara] and [Ryan] ten Doeschate in the middle overs.

“The main thing is we got the win and you’re always going to go for a few runs in the powerplay and at the death but I was pretty happy with how the ball came out.

“When you come into a new team, you want to the basics right and put the ball in good areas and if guys play good shots then you have to take that on the chin and move on.

“It was a pretty flat wicket and quick outfield so we always knew it would be a tough job bowling first as we didn’t know what a par score would be but coming off, I thought they were probably 20 under par.

“Deebs, Joe and Sam took it to them and laid the foundation for the win.

“The way our batsmen came out and stamped their authority on the chase made our bowling look even better.

“We’re looking forward to Gloucestershire on Thursday. It’s a long tournament so we can’t get ahead of ourselves but to get two or three early wins would be an ideal start.”

Kent Spitfires play Gloucestershire on Tuesday 18 July and we have 4,000 pairs of Spitfire Gold sunglasses to give away at the game

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