Essex sign Neesham for their T20 Blast campaign

New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham signs up for Essex for their upcoming T20 Blast as their overseas player. The 30-year-old will join his new team after his commitments with Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but will be available for the Eagles’ initial group stage matches. In the IPL 2021 auction in February this year, Neesham was bought by MI for his base price of INR 50 lakh.

The Kiwi all-rounder features regularly for his national side in white-ball cricket. He has had stints with Delhi and Punjab in the IPL, and in the CPL he has represented Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders.

"I am really looking forward to joining up with Essex Eagles for this year's Vitality Blast. I'm excited about linking up with Ryan ten Doeschate again, having played with him for a few seasons when he was with Otago, and hopefully, we can replicate the success of 2019," said Neesham in an official statement.

Neesham has had a couple of stints in England, playing for Derbyshire and Kent, where he scored 402 runs at 28.8 and has picked up 29 wickets at 29.1. 

Speaking of Neesham’s signing head coach Anthony McGrath said, "We sat down at the end of last season and concluded that we needed to add another all-rounder to the T20 squad, and with all of his talent and experience, Jimmy fits the bill perfectly.”

"He's excelled with both the bat and the ball on the biggest of stages for his country, as well as in the global franchise competitions and it's a great match for both the player and the Club," he added.