The 33-year-old New Zealand National Cricket Team fast bowler Lockie Ferguson did the unthinkable when the Kiwis took the field to lock horns with Papua New Guinea in the 39th match 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 bundled out the side for just 78 in 19.4 overs. This is a dead-rubber clash for both teams as they have been eliminated from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
All the New Zealand bowlers looked threatening and they made life hell for the Papua New Guinea batting unit. However, the standout performance came from the express pacer Lockie Ferguson, who switched on the beast mode.
He dismissed Assad Vala, Charles Amini, and Chad Soper in the 5th, 12th, and 14th over and as he was ripping apart the PNG team, he made sure that he didn’t leak any runs. Throughout his 24-ball spell, he didn’t even concede a single run and with this, he wrote a new chapter in cricket history. His spell looked like: W,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 to deliver the most economical 4-over spell in T20 cricket history. The pacer became only the second bowler to achieve the feat in T20Is and third overall in T20s after Akshay Karnewar and Saad Bin Zafar.
Most economical spells in T20s:
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 creates history
The New Zealand star pacer now also holds the record for bowling the most economical spell in the history of T20 World Cups. He broke the record of his teammate Tim Southee to achieve the humongous feat.
Most economical 4-over spells in Men’s T20 World Cup:
3/0 – Lockie Ferguson (NZ) vs PNG, Tarouba, 2024*
3/4 – Tim Southee (NZ) vs UGA, Tarouba, 2024
2/4 – Frank Nsubuga (UGA) vs PNG, Guyana, 2024
4/7 – Anrich Nortje (SA) vs SL, New York, 2024
2/7 – Trent Boult (NZ) 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 on the line the Blackcaps bowlers gave their very best as this could be the last-ever T20 World Cup match for many of them, with Trent Boult being the one to confirm his retirement from T20 World Cups.
After Lockie Ferguson and New Zealand’s sensational bowling, Trent Boult spoke to broadcasters in the mid-innings break and talked about his feelings. He said that he is proud of the way he has bowled but was dejected that New Zealand couldn’t qualify for Super 8 stage. He elaborated:
“Little bit weird. Wanted to sign off with the yorker. I am proud of what I have done in the Black Cap. Just gutted we’re not going any further. But any time you get to represent the country, it’s a proud moment. I haven’t forecast much but this is my last game at the World Cup.”
