India’s great batsman Sachin Tendulkar became the biggest batsman in world cricket at that time. He is known as a great batsman. Neil brought Sachin to the pavilion in his first Test match. Not once but twice.
The Zimbabwe cricket team was called the Flower Brothers. There were two Flower brothers named Andy and Grant. But, in 1998, a player who impressed with his game for Zimbabwe cricket.. could not continue his career for long. In his short career, the player has made a name for himself and impressed with his brilliant performances for Zimbabwe. That player’s name is Neil Johnson. Today 24th January is his birthday. Neil was born in 1970.
He was born in Zimbabwe. But, he left the country for South Africa at the age of 10 due to his father’s job. But seeing him play, Zimbabwe cricket invited him back home. Neil accepted the offer. He made his international debut on October 7, 1998 in a Test match against India.
Sachin showed dots..
India’s great batsman Sachin Tendulkar became the biggest batsman in world cricket at that time. He is known as a great batsman. Neil brought Sachin to the pavilion in his first Test match. Not once but twice. Neil dismissed Sachin in both the innings of this match. Although he did not perform well with the bat in this match, he did wonders with the bowling. It was from here that Neil started making his mark. He used to open for the team in ODIs. He also has the power to handle the new ball.
Amazing innings in 1999 World Cup..
Although Zimbabwe has been playing in the World Cup for a long time, it has not been among the winning teams of the World Cup. In 1999, it looked as if this team would reach the semi-finals after showing a fantastic performance. This is due to Neil’s amazing performance. Zimbabwe’s top scorer and bowler who took the most wickets in this World Cup. In this World Cup, Neil took 12 wickets and scored 367 runs at an average of 52.42 in eight matches. On the basis of his all-round play, the Zimbabwean team managed to reach the Super-6.
His best performances in this World Cup came against South Africa and Australia. He played an excellent innings with 76 runs against South Africa and took three wickets for 27 runs. His performance helped Zimbabwe beat South Africa by 48 runs. At the same time, he played the best innings of his ODI career against Australia and scored 132 runs. He hit four fours in an over bowled by Shane Warne. He was man of the match thrice in this tournament.
He did miracles.. Career close within 3 years..
Neil bid farewell to his international career in the year 2000. The reason for this is his dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Board. He said there was a dispute over salary in the board. This player retired. After that he played county cricket. In 13 Test matches played for Zimbabwe, Neil scored 532 runs at an average of 24.18. It includes a century and four half-centuries. Meanwhile, in 48 ODIs, this batsman scored 1679 runs at an average of 36.50. Neil scored four centuries and 11 half-centuries in ODIs.
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