Jimmy Neesham reveals what he said to Martin Guptill before Super Over

Black Caps all rounder Jimmy Neesham has revealed he didn't feel any nerves as he walked out to bat in the Super Over to decide the Cricket World Cup champion.

With 16 needed off the Super Over to win the World Cup, Neesham scored 13, along with a wide, before Guptill faced the final ball.

Guptill managed a single before being run out going for the second as New Zealand finished on the same score as England with the hosts awarded the title due to a tie-breaker rule for most boundaries scored in the final.

Neesham had a strong tournament for the Black Caps, impressing with bat, ball and in the field including a remarkable one-handed catch in the semifinal victory over India.

In an interview with the Guardian, Neesham revealed what he said to Guptill has they went out to bat in the Super Over and why he wasn't feeling nervous.

"It's something I've done a lot of work on," he says. "When I first came into international cricket, I sort of feared those big moments. It gets conditioned into you as a sportsman that these moments are so important and you'll feel pressure, and you'll be nervous," he told the Guardian.

"I think what I've done while I was away from the game is that I've changed my relationship with moments like that to a relationship of enjoyment.

"Guppy [Guptill] and I sat on the sidelines before we went out for the super-over and we actually played club cricket together in Auckland in about 2009, before I left to go to Otago.

"I turned to him and said 'From batting together at Ken Maunder Park 2009, to a World Cup final at Lord's – how good is this?' And we had a little laugh and walked out.

"So I wasn't nervous at all. It was a feeling of excitement and possibilities. The cards didn't fall our way that day, but I'm still very proud of how we went out and took the game on and maybe in four years' time, it will be different."

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission