Michael Neser enjoys Boxing Day Test with vital all-round showing, scoring a vital 35 and then picking 4 wickets.
‘I dreamt of this as a kid’ – Michael Neser emerges as Australia’s unlikely Ashes hero.
After acknowledging at the beginning of the summer that he wasn’t sure whether he would ever play Test cricket again, Michael Neser is becoming an Ashes hero for Australia.
When Australia was bowled out for just 152 on the first day at the MCG, Neser, 35, top-scored with a crucial 35 off 49 balls. Then, on a breathtaking 20-wicket opening day, he grabbed 4 for 45 with the ball, nicking off Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Jacob Bethell to rip the heart and soul out of England as they were bowled out for just 110.
After suffering a severe hamstring injury last year, he began the summer outside of Test calculations. He was not included in Australia’s initial 15-man squad for the first Test in Perth, but he was called in when Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott sustained injuries.
He was called up for the pink-ball Test in Brisbane, when he claimed his first Test five wickets on home soil. But in Adelaide, he was pulled out for Nathan Lyon and the returning Pat Cummins.
He received his fourth Test cap and his first red-ball Test at the MCG, but both men were hurt. He was stunned by his performance in front of a record 94,199 spectators.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be playing for Australia again and to be in the position I am now, I’m very privileged,” Neser said. “It’s unreal. I dreamt of this as a kid. Every Boxing Day I would wake up early, and me and my brother would play back out at cricket for hours and come back in and watch cricket. The whole day just is cricket for us and to be part of it, it’s a dream come true. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”
“The ball definitely nipped around a bit there with the new rock,” Neser said. “So it was just a matter of trying to find ways to put pressure back on their bowlers, and knowing that when we bowled, we had to just be patient and let the wicket do the work.”