At the ongoing T20 World Cup, New Zealand is playing against Papua New Guinea in match 39. New Zealand bowler Lockie Ferguson broke a record in the history of the T20 World Cup. The New Zealand fast bowler, playing in the USA and West Indies 2024 World Cup, did something in his team’s June 17 match against PNG that no other player in the tournament’s history has ever been able to do.
Being the first bowler in a T20 World Cup to bowl a match’s entire four overs as a maiden has made history for Lockie Ferguson.
He achieved the amazing feat at Tarouba, Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium during his team’s last tournament match against PNG.
Lockie Ferguson got a wicket and hit the captain, Assad Vala, for six on the opening ball of the match. Ferguson was very swift, and the PNG batters found themselves unprepared for a far better opponent in New Zealand.
Following the Powerplay, Lockie Ferguson persisted at the other end, mixing up his lengths to confuse the batter and bowling yet another maiden, this one to Sese Bau. In the twelfth over, Ferguson came back to disrupt things once more. He removed Charles Amini for 17 on his second ball.
Ferguson’s fourth over saw two runs off the third ball, but they were leg-byes, therefore they were not added to his final tally. He eventually bowled a fourth maiden and dismissed Chad Soper for one to accomplish the incredible accomplishment in the shortest format.
Ferguson became the second bowler in T20I history to achieve the accomplishment of bowling four maidens in a T20 International, after Saad Bin Zafar of Canada set the record. He achieved this feat against Panama in a T20 World Cup qualifying. Ferguson now has three dismissals from his bowling session, surpassing Zafar’s previous best of two wickets.
Prior to their final Twenty20 International encounter against PNG, the team’s best pacer, Trent Boult, declared his retirement following the World Cup. The Kiwis had already lost the competition, therefore their total performance had been subpar. The Kane Williamson-led team’s group losses against Afghanistan and the West Indies confirmed their early elimination from the competition.