New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson created history on Monday, June 17 becoming the first man in the history of men’s T20 cricket to bowl a four-over spell and pick up more than two wickets without conceding a run. Ferguson bowled four maiden overs against Papua New Guinea in their Group C match of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Lockie Ferguson’s effort was also the most economical bowling figure in a men’s T20 World Cup match in the nine-edition history of the tournament. Lockie Ferguson was only the second bowler after Saad Bin Zafar of Canada who bowled four maidens in a T20I against Panama in Coolidge in November 2021.
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Ferguson was brought in as a first-change bowler after senior bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee opened the attack after a delayed toss at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Monday. However, Ferguson did not take a long strike as he picked up a wicket with the first delivery of his spell.
MOST ECONOMICAL SPELLS IN T20I CRICKET
- Lockie Ferguson – 4 overs, 0 runs, 3 wickets – New Zealand vs Uganda in 2024
- Saad Bin Zafar – 4 overs, 0 runs, 2 wickets – Canada vs Panama in 2021
- Nuwan Kulasekara – 2 overs, 0 runs, 1 wicket – Sri Lanka vs Netherlands in 2014
He got the big wicket of Asad Vala, forcing the PNG captain to play away from his body and have him caught in the slip cordon.
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Ferguson then returned to break a steady 27-run stand for the third wicket by removing Charles Amini, who was looking good with his 25-ball 17. In his very next over, Ferguson got Chad Soper for 1, disturbing the woodwork of the lower middle-order batter.
Ferguson was ably supported by the two veterans, Boult and Southee, as they picked up 2 wickets each. Boult, playing in his final T20 World Cup match, arrived late for the party but he was also miserly in his four-over spell, conceding just 14 runs in 4 overs.
New Zealand were looking upbeat on the field in the final game of their campaign despite the early exit. The finalists from the 2021 edition suffered a shock early exit after losing to the West Indies and Afghanistan in Group C before bouncing back to beat Uganda.
PNG were bundled out for 78 as Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult and Tim Southee shared 7 wickets between them. Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Snatner picked 3 wickets between them.
Source Agencies
