New Zealand’s T20 World Cup campaign may have come to an end much earlier than possible, but that did not stop them from bowing out on high as they did on Monday (June 17). Riding on the excellent bowling display of Lockie Ferguson New Zealand beat Papua New Guinea by seven wickets and finished third in their T20 World Cup group. The superb bowling display from Ferguson saw him register the rarest of feat of 4-4-0-3 in the T20 World Cup.

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Ferguson registers 4-4-0-3

Playing in the final match of the T20 World Cup, Ferguson was flawless with the ball as bowled four maiden overs while scalping three wickets. His bowling figures of 4-4-0-3 (four overs with three wickets and four maidens) is a rare occasion in cricket with only Saad Bin Zafar of Canada managing to do so in the international format. Interestingly, this is also the first time a bowler has registered this feat having bowled 24 dot balls without bowling a wide or no ball.

Most Economical bowling figures in T20I cricket

Lockie Ferguson – 4 overs, 0 runs, 3 wickets – New Zealand vs Uganda in 2024

Saad Bin Zafar – 4 overs, 0 runs, 2 wickets – Canada vs Panama in 2021

Nuwan Kulasekara – 2 overs, 0 runs, 1 wicket – Sri Lanka vs Netherlands in 2014

Ferguson’s three wickets consisted of Asad Vala, Charles Amini and Chad Soper as he ran riot at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad.

Ferguson still misses out on ultimate record

Although a rare and historic feat, Ferguson’s spell isn’t the best bowling stat in T20I history as per International Cricket Council (ICC) rules. According to ICC rules a bowler with the most wickets in an innings is credited with the best bowling figures which is held by Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus with figures of 4-1-8-7 (seven wickets for eight runs in four overs).

Ferguson’s spell helped New Zealand beat PNG by seven wickets having restricted them to 78 and then chasing down the target in 12.2 overs. The speedster was also adjourned Player of the Match for his superb bowling display.

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