Michael Neser’s career-best knock helps Glamorgan avoid humiliation in ongoing County Championship Division Two

Michael Neser. (Photo Source: Twitter/LV= Insurance County Championship)

Michael Neser scored an incredible hundred in the County Championship Division Two 2023 against Leicestershire after being sent to play country cricket by selectors following the completion of the third Ashes Test. Neser scored 176* runs in 202 balls and helped Glamorgan go past 400 run mark from 93/7.

The 33-year-old hit 25 boundaries and two sixes in his knock as he brought up his fourth first-class hundred. The bowling all-rounder Neser is yet to play any Test in the ongoing Ashes 2023; he is being made to warm the bench in the presence of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, and Scott Boland. Neser was sent by selectors between the third and fourth Tests to play county cricket, and he made sure to dazzle with the bat.

In the Glamorgan vs Leicestershire match, nearly two days were washed out by rain at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Leicestershire bowled beautifully in the initial overs as they kept the pressure on. Chris Wright and Matt Salisbury, the bowling duo, almost destroyed Glamorgan’s top order. But in the end, Neser showed his worth with his remarkable innings.

“It means a lot. To put that together is quite special,” said Neser to BBC.

“We just tried to say let’s be positive and put the pressure back on them. We had a few fortunate moments and thankfully it paid off. It started to flatten out there a lot. It was quite tricky early on, and once you got through that new ball and it softened up, it was a nice wicket to bat on,” he further added.

Michael Neser to return to Australia’s Ashes 2023 camp this weekend

His incredible innings also saw a 123-run ninth wicket partnership; Mitchell Swepson scored 69 runs and gave support to his compatriot bowler in playing the incredible knock. While this innings is not a fluke by Neser as it is the second in a row, he has also hit 123 runs against Sussex before entering the Ashes camp.

Whereas in the Ashes 2023, the Pat Cummins-led Australia are currently leading the five-game series by a scoreline of 2-1. But the visitors lost the last Test against the Ben Stokes-led England by three wickets at Headingley. It will be interesting to see if, after his incredible feat with the bat, Neser will be able to sneak into the Australian XI for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, starting July 19 or not.