Cricket Wellington Statement
Cricket Wellington is pleased to announce that BLACKCAPS’ all-rounder, Jimmy Neesham, has signed with the Wellington Firebirds for the 2018-19 season.
The 27-year-old veteran of 68 internationals moves to the capital after seven seasons with the Otago Volts.
The move will see Neesham return to the ground where he made his Test debut, scoring a memorable century and pairing up with BLACKCAPS’ skipper Brendon McCullum as he reached his historic 302 against India in 2014.
That international experience is among a number of positives that head coach, Bruce Edgar sees Neesham bringing to his side,
“Jimmy is a quality player who will add a lot to our middle order with the bat and complement a pace attack who have done pretty well in recent seasons.
“We think that will make him an asset to our squad and he’s been very clear that a return to the national side is part of his focus and a strong incentive to contribute to the Firebirds this coming summer.”
Cricket Wellington CEO, Cam Mitchell, is impressed with Neesham’s renewed focus and believes he will bring a lot to cricket in the capital.
“The players we’ve recruited in recent seasons have all been immensely successful, as much off the field as on it.
“We anticipate Jimmy continuing that and having an impact on the broader cricket community, beyond his performances with bat and ball.”
The Firebirds will announce their contracted players next month, with Mitchell giving some perspective to the process.
“There’s no doubt the contracting process is a challenging one, and we’re very aware of how much is at stake for the players involved.
“In recent years we’ve recruited well but we’ve also seen local players step up and make their First-Class debuts.
“We see Jimmy as the continuation of the former and we look forward to another season developing the latter.”
