New Zealand player Kyle Jamieson has suffered another massive setback after scans revealed a new stress fracture on his back that will keep him out of action at least another year as well. It is also noteworthy that, the new injury is on the same part of the back where he had surgery last year. However, he isn’t likely to go under the knife this time around also.

“I am hopeful I still have many more playing days ahead of me” – Kyle Jamieson

“The last few days have been some of my most challenging but I am hugely grateful for the support I’ve received from my partner, family, teammates, support staff and medical professionals,” Kyle Jamieson said in a statement. “I know injuries are part of life as a cricketer and at my age I am hopeful I still have many more playing days ahead of me.”

The veteran has been mostly on the sidelines over the last couple of years because of a result of back issues. After getting injured in June 2022, he came back last February against England at home.

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“We will be fully behind him on the rehabilitation road ahead” – Gary Stead

However, there was a recurrence of the injury just ahead of his anticipated return and he was forced to have surgery that also ruled him out for a few months as well. Even though he returned with a bang in all three formats post the recovery, the latest injury setback will not see him in action again in 2024 as well.

“We’ve all seen how much work Kyle has put into returning to international cricket and for him to have a setback like this is tough news to get,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. “On the positive side we know how determined he is to keep playing cricket for New Zealand and we will be fully behind him on the rehabilitation road ahead. His resolve is undiminished.”

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson will undergo surgery to correct a suspected stress fracture in his back, which could keep him out of action for up to four months. He will presently be down and out for the impending time of the Indian Premier League, where he was set to play for the Chennai Super Rulers, who had gotten him for INR 1 crore in the 2023 auction. He was included in the New Zealand team that will play England in the ongoing home series.

“Kyle has seen a back surgeon and is getting surgery later in the week. It’s been a challenging and difficult time for Kyle and a big loss for us. He has been fantastic when he has been around all of our sides when he has been part of them.”

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead confirmed.

The tall pacer’s setback is a recurrence of a back injury he suffered last year on the England tour. He made a full recovery in the domestic circuit and even participated in a warm-up game against England in Hamilton in preparation for the current Test series. 

Jamieson had been anticipated to participate in at least one of the subsequent Test matches, despite not having played in an international cricket match since June, when he first suffered the back injury in England. Jamieson will now travel back to Christchurch for additional evaluation after tests performed prior to the opening game in Mount Maunganui revealed a second fracture.

Jamieson will be out of the New Zealand home series against Sri Lanka in March and April, the Pakistani away tour in April and May, and the Indian Premier League 2023 season, where he was purchased by Chennai Super Kings for INR 1 crore. For a possible return, Jamieson could target New Zealand’s August tour of England.

“We just wish him well, and we will know more in about three to four months about what that end prognosis looks like for him. Surgery provides a quicker return to play and that’s the encouraging thing for him. We want to give him the best chance of recovery because we know what a star he has been for us,”

Stead further stated.

Matt Henry will return to the team for the second Test, which begins on February 24 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. New Zealand, which lost badly in the first Test against England due to a lack of bowling resources, will welcome him back into the mix.

The 27-year-old’s recovery time is unknown, but his absence was felt during the first Test against England, where England defeated New Zealand by 267 runs

The four-time IPL champions focused on acquiring all-rounders during the mini-auction, and Jamieson’s injury forced CSK to address the succession issue. They will announce the replacement shortly, and potential candidates include Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Nishant Sindhu, and others.

Bowling is crucial in Cricket, and it is fitting that the top sides in the World Test Championship had brilliant bowlers. New Zealand, India, and Australia boast of some significant attacks and have decent bench strength. New Zealand, the World Test Champions, did a brilliant job in the finals and had beautiful variety in their attack. The bowlers just kept coming in one after another, and each was just as threatening.

After a magnificent win, it is common for the winning side to stay in the limelight. Now, the limelight shift to New Zealand’s bowling and pace attack. New Zealand used five pacers in the finals, and each is unique to one another. The uniqueness makes them a strong side, like India and even Australia, who have three fast and aggressive pacers, but also provide some variety among each other.

Let us now look into the bowlers used for the finals, what they offer, and the backup options for New Zealand.

Trent Boult

Trent Boult is a star for New Zealand in all formats. He has been a part of the set-up for years, building a spectacular partnership with Tim Southee. He is known for his exploits with the new ball but has improved vastly with the old ball. His left-arm angle helps unsettle batters as Boult has Southee at the other end doing a similar role with the right arm. Boult can hit a decent pace as well and is closing in on 300 Test wickets.

Tim Southee

Sharing the new ball with Trent Boult is Tim Southee. Southee has been around for quite a while, making his debut back in 2008. Over the years, he added some new skills to his armory but is still a brilliant swing bowler. He can swing both ways and do what Boult does but with the right arm, providing various angles while also using the crease well. Tim Southee is known to take off from different parts of the crease, and that helps him move the ball around. He is in a spell of good form, having done well against England and making a good impact in the finals.

Kyle Jamieson

Kyle Jamieson is the newest member of the attack, and his Test career is off to a great start. While Boult and Southee unsettle batters with their swing and accuracy, Jamieson brings in the height and bounce. At 6ft 8, Jamieson is the tallest member of the attack and can also swing the ball both ways. He’s played three Tests against India and has the edge over Virat Kohli, which helped New Zealand dominate the Finals. He was brilliant with five wickets in the first innings and is a handy batter as well. He has 46 wickets in eight Tests and is likely to reach his first milestone of 50 wickets very soon.

With a high release point and a mean full-length delivery, Jamieson can unsettle batters in multiple ways. He hasn’t played in cold conditions yet, but the start shows that he can go far in Test Cricket.

Neil Wagner

Neil Wagner is the workhorse of the attack. He can bowl long spells, which allows the other three to operate in short bursts. Unlike the other three, Neil Wagner gets involved in the contest and is very tough, having bowled with broken toes and fingers in the past.

With him, there is a lot of banter in the middle. Initially, Wagner has been known for his long spells of short-pitched bowling. After the ball stops swinging, Wagner uses the lifeless surface to bowl at the batter’s chest continuously. Being a little short, Wagner manages to generate a skiddy bounce and is accurate.

Neil Wagner bought in the full-length delivery in the recent England series and used swing to dismiss batters, displaying his variety in skill. He is the bowler who gets at the batters and unsettles them, which allows the other three to stick to their skills. Although he is 35, Wagner has a few years in him as he plays in only one format and is likely to continue as an integral member of the attack.

Colin De Grandhomme

The fifth pacer on the side is the slowest of the lot. His pace allows New Zealand to go in without a spinner on most occasions, and his accuracy can annoy the batters. His speed doesn’t go beyond 125, but his accuracy allows him to move the old ball around effectively. He is known for his discipline with the ball and is very aggressive with the bat. He didn’t bowl in the second innings of the finals but was influential in the first. Though he is slower, De Grandhomme makes sure he doesn’t offer the batters any respite after facing the other bowlers. His line and length are persistent and can frustrate the batters.

Along with the five bowlers used, New Zealand has developed a nice bench for Test Cricket. Matt Henry had a good role in the WTC cycle and is an excellent limited-overs bowler. For express pace, they have Lockie Ferguson, who still hasn’t established himself in Test Cricket, and they have a decent spinner in Ajaz Patel.

The side has good bowling depth and five outstanding pacers, which helped win the World Test Championship. It will be interesting to see what the pacers do in the next cycle with challenging assignments ahead.

New Zealand young cricketer Kyle Jamieson may have gotten it done on the most prestigious phase of Test cricket; nonetheless, many probably won’t have the foggiest idea about the anxiety he felt during the last moments of the ICC World Test Championship final. New Zealand beat India exhaustively in Southampton to turn into the debut heroes of Test cricket. Kyle Jamieson uncovered he felt so unsteady during the withering final moments of the match that he locked himself in the restroom. 

Jamieson, who decreed Player of the Match for getting 7 wickets – 5 in the first and 2 in the subsequent innings – didn’t straightforwardly determine the second he was discussing however his words had enough signs to propose that it was when Indian spin master, Ravichandran Ashwin had sent back New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway with hardly a pause in between. Jamieson’s accomplishments were more magnificent as he dismissed the backbone of the team, skipper Virat Kohli twice in the decider to give New Zealand the higher ground. He additionally contributed a fast fire of 21 in 15 with the bat in New Zealand’s first innings, which was actually not his real potential.

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“It was really difficult to watch. I really tried to go to the restroom where there was no noise to simply move away from it for a while because it was quite nerve-racking. In any case, it was a pleasure to have Kane and Ross out there, two of our most prominent batsmen, to quiet the nerves and complete the task the manner in which they did,” Jamieson added. 

“We were sitting inside and actually watching TV. There was somewhat of a deley yet it seemed like each ball the Indian supporters was physically up for and I resembled ‘jeez it’s a wicket’ or something to that same, yet it turned out it’s anything but a dot or a single,” Jamieson said. 

“It was acceptable. Nothing too insane,” Jamieson said about the post-game ceremony. “We just invested energy in the changing room and back in the team room. Clearly with the entire Covid circumstance, there was definitely not a ton of getting making the rounds. 

“It was just pleasant, to be fair, to get to know each other and partake in the time together after a couple of years of hard work and a long tour before that too. Just to pause for a minute or two and appreciate each other’s company was very pleasant,” he added. 

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The 26-year-old further added that despite the fact that he is excited to head towards home, he was very grateful to play a sport he adores all throughout the country of any format, even in the midst of the pandemic. 

Kyle Jamieson admitted that it was hard to bid farewell to his colleagues within 48 hours of their memorable WTC win. The bowler was, indeed, back on the cricket field for Surrey on Friday, playing in the T20 Blast. Jamieson got back with figures of 0-26 in his three overs in the T20 game in the wake of winning the Man of the Match grant in the WTC final.