New Zealand national cricket team fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, 33, did the unthinkable as the Kiwis took the field to face Papua New Guinea in match 39 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Brian Lara Stadium , Tarouba. , Trinidad on Monday, June 17.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match. The Kiwi bowlers showed their true class in the clash against PNG and bowled the team for just 78 in 19.4 overs. This is a rubber clash for both the teams as they have been eliminated from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
All the New Zealand bowlers looked threatening and made life hell for the Papua New Guinea batting unit. However, the standout performance came from fast pacer Lockie Ferguson, who activated beast mode.
He dismissed Assad Vala, Charles Amini and Chad Soper in 5th, 12th and 14th and, while destroying the PNG team, made sure not to lose a race. Throughout his 24-ball spell, he did not even concede a single run and with this he wrote a new chapter in the history of cricket. His spell looked like this: W, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, W, 0,0,0,0,0, W, 0,0,0,0.
He became the bowler who bowled the most economical 4 over spell in the history of T20 cricket. The pacer became the second player to achieve the feat in T20Is and the third overall in T20 after Akshay Karnewar and Saad Bin Zafar.
Cheapest spells in T20:
4-4-0-3: L Ferguson (2024) [T20I]
4-4-0-2: Saad Bin Zafar (2021) [T20I]
4-4-0-2: Akshay Karnewar (2021) [T20]
Lockie Ferguson makes history
The New Zealand star also now holds the record for bowling the most economical spell in T20 World Cup history. He broke teammate Tim Southee’s record to achieve the enormous feat.
Cheapest 4 over spells in Men’s T20 World Cup:
3/0 – Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand) vs PNG, Tarouba, 2024*
3/4 – Tim Southee (New Zealand) vs. UGA, Tarouba, 2024
2/4 – Frank Nsubuga (UGA) vs PNG, Guyana,
4/7 – Anrich Nortje (SA) vs SL, New York, 2024
2/7 – Trent Boult (New Zealand) vs UGA, Tarouba, 2024
Coming back to the match, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi also picked up two wickets each in the match while Mitchell Santner bagged one wicket. Despite not having much at stake, the Blackcaps players gave their best as this could be the last T20 World Cup match for many of them, with Trent Boult confirming his retirement from World Cups. T20.
After Lockie Ferguson and New Zealand’s sensational bowling, Trent Boult spoke to the announcers at the mid-innings break and talked about his feelings. He said that he is proud of the way he has bowled, but that he was dejected that New Zealand failed to qualify for the Super 8 stage. He elaborated:
“A little strange. I wanted to sign with the Yorker. I’m proud of what I’ve done in Black Cap. We’re just not going to go any further. But every time you represent the country, it’s a proud moment.” . “I haven’t predicted much, but this is my last game in the World Cup.”