Fit-again Jimmy Neesham ready for Test reboot

Jimmy Neesham, the New Zealand all-rounder, is aiming to play 'care-free cricket' if he gets an opportunity during the upcoming Test series against India. Neesham hasn't played a Test since November, 2015, with injury and form issues keeping him out of the team.

Having worked on his fitness, the 25-year old is now ready to step up a gear and get back to the kind of form that made him one of the hottest prospects of the game. "I'm basically looking to go back to how I played when I first came into international cricket," Neesham said, upon his teams' arrival in New Delhi on Tuesday (September 13), ahead of the three-day practice match against Ranji champions Mumbai.

"I think I was a bit more care free, and a bit more, I suppose, laissez-faire, especially with batting. Once you start feeling the pressure of international cricket and wanting results and wanting runs, it can curb your game a little bit which I think is one of the traps I fell into," the all-rounder added.

Neesham said he will back his natural game and was prepared for the grind of international cricket - having worked hard on his fitness, ever since breaking down with a back injury in Brisbane, during New Zealand's tour of Australia last November. "I'm just looking to go back to playing my natural game and it's a bit of a cliche, but hopefully runs and wickets will flow from there," he said.

Neesham underwent a rehabilitation stint in England and spent the English summer playing Twenty20 cricket for Derbyshire in the Natwest T20 Blast. "The main result for me is that I got through the whole [English] season uninjured and had no problems with the back at all.

"The aim now is to get the loading up again and make them good enough for Test cricket. We did a lot of work on the rehab prior to the Australian series last year, and we were pretty comprehensive on that side of things. Over in Derby, it was more about finding what works and what doesn't, and changing up, especially the gym programme, a little bit. Basically making cricket the number one priority," Neesham said.

Neesham's presence gives New Zealand plenty of options, especially with coach Mike Hesson toying with the idea of playing three spinners during the India series. New Zealand begin their preparations for the Test series with a three-day match against Mumbai, beginning on Friday (September 16), at Feroze Shah Kotla in New Delhi. The first Test is slated to begin on September 22nd at Green Park in Kanpur.