‘No secret, simply having enjoyable’ – Bevon Jacobs on racking up 5 T20 fifties in a row

With scores of 78*, 88*, 53, 54 and 55, Bevon Jacobs has drawn degree with Devon Conway for the most consecutive fifties by a New Zealand batter in males’s T20 cricket. Only Afghanistan’s Sediquallah Atal (6) and India’s Riyan Parag (7) have hit extra half-centuries in a row within the format.

Conway smashed 4 successive fifties for Wellington within the Super Smash in 2021 – which was the outdated file – after which added one other in opposition to Australia in Christchurch.

On Monday, Jacobs raised his fifth consecutive half-century off 42 balls when he drilled Jacob Duffy, the No.2-ranked T20I bowler, previous extra-cover for 4. Jacobs then rushed Auckland house in a chase of 160 in opposition to Volts, with three sixes in a 4 in his final 9 balls in Dunedin.

“Yeah, it’s been really nice to contribute to the season and I’ve been enjoying myself out there,” Jacobs advised the host broadcaster after successful the Player-of-the-Match award. “There’s no secret to it [five fifties in a row]. I guess I’ve just been having fun and I guess trying to keep it as simple as possible and just doing what I can to try and get the boys over the line. Obviously, we were disappointed we couldn’t do it against the Kings so it was nice that we could finish the job today.”

Jacobs is thought to be one of many hardest hitters of a cricket ball in New Zealand and that talent had even earned him a surprise IPL gig with Mumbai Indians in 2025. At the time he was nonetheless uncapped at worldwide degree. Jacobs did not discover any takers for IPL 2026, however on Monday confirmed that he could be greater than only a arduous hitter and paced Auckland’s chase effectively on a University Oval pitch the place the brand new ball was doing a good bit.

Jacobs, who got here into bat at 32 for 3 within the fifth over, noticed off the brand new(ish) ball and performed himself in, together with Mark Chapman, earlier than showcasing his vary in opposition to the softer, older ball. Jacobs was on 20 off 22 earlier than he swatted Jake Gibson for six over sq. leg. Next ball, he launched him straighter over extensive long-on for six extra. The fast left-arm fingerspin of Ben Lockrose and the arduous lengths of Matt Bacon tied Jacobs down however he overcame these spells and offered the ultimate flourish for Auckland.

“Yeah, 100% [wanted to be there at the finish]. I think me coming in early with Chappy, having someone with his experience is always awesome,” Jacobs mentioned. “He kept my head straight and kind of just told me, ‘just bat for a bit, heaps of time out there and try and take it as deep as possible’ and so we were able to build that partnership and that was really helpful in the scheme of the game.”

Auckland captain Sean Solia, who performed for Samoa throughout the New Zealand winter, was additionally impressed with Jacobs’ kind. “It’s incredible and he’s a really talented kid and works hard,” Solia mentioned. “So, it’s no surprise that he’s performing as well as he is.”

With Monday’s victory, Auckland drew degree with Canterbury on the high of the Super Smash desk on 16 factors and the 2 will probably be enjoying one another once more on Wednesday. In their first assembly of the season, Jacobs crashed an unbeaten 88 off 45 balls and cast an unbroken 171-run partnership, the best ever for the fifth wicket within the Super Smash, however Canterbury ended up winning the game by 17 runs.

Jacobs is presently the leading run-getter in New Zealand’s home T20 event with 328 from 5 innings at a shocking common of 109.33 and strike fee of 173.54. After his Auckland commitments, Jacobs is because of hyperlink up with Black Caps’ T20I squad in India later this month for a five-match collection, however was not picked within the facet for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.