Injured Black Cap confident of return

By Kris Shannon

Kyle Jamieson is confident his recent injury woes will one day be a “little blip” in an otherwise long and successful career.

The fast bowler has been ruled out until at least next summer after suffering a stress fracture in his back during the Black Caps’ first-test win over South Africa at Bay Oval.

Jamieson missed the second test at Seddon Park, where New Zealand clinched a historic series victory over the Proteas, and scans revealed a new injury in the same location as the fracture on which he underwent surgery last February.

The news was a serious blow for the Black Caps ahead of their two-test series against Australia — and a cruel discovery for Jamieson in his prolonged battle for fitness.

The 29-year-old has played only three tests and 10 limited-overs internationals since the start of 2023, with his six-wicket haul last week coming in his first home test in two years.

But Jamieson pointed out his back had been healthy for the majority of a decade-long career, believing these issues would eventually prove an aberration.

“It’s been an emotional journey over the last few days, just trying to get your head around the fact it’s another extended stint on the sidelines,” Jamieson said. “But I’ve definitely seen there’s a path forward and optimism around this recovery and what I can come back to.

“It’s just about trying to have faith in that and have faith in the bigger picture, and know that I can get back and get through this.

“In time, it’ll be a little blip on the radar and we’ll have some good stuff to show for it, I’m sure.”

The 2.03m paceman has produced no shortage of highlights already in his Black Caps career.

In June 2021, Jamieson snared seven wickets in the World Test Championship final win over India, and a few months later surpassed Shane Bond to became the fastest New Zealander to 50 test scalps.

He reached the milestone in nine tests but played only 10 more since, encountering the type of back problems that plagued the career of Bond and many quicks around the world.

Jamieson found optimism in the familiarity of the injury, having developed an unfortunate amount of experience in the process to come and pitfalls to avoid.

“There’s a couple of patterns over the past few years — and you kind of have to have these setbacks to notice them as patterns — around some of the way you build up for red-ball cricket.

“History suggests that when you get that process right there’s still a lot of cricket to be played. I get a huge amount of hope from that.”

Jamieson also drew belief from Bay Oval, where he was the Black Caps’ best seamer despite stiffness and soreness developing over the test. That performance would now remain prominent in his mind over the long months to follow.

“Those moments, if I can do that when my back’s maybe not holding up as well as it you’d like, then what am I gonna be like when it’s good?” he said. “I’ll just keep that vision in mind and keep trying to chase that and come out the other side.

“I know some of hurdles I’ll have to overcome, probably more mentally and emotionally. The physical side is the easy part — you just rest and build back up. It’s almost autopilot in a way.

“It’s tough, because you don’t want to go through it again. You hope that each time is that last time. But I’m also six-foot-eight and I’m trying to bowl fast, so I know it’s part of the journey.

“And I’m also 29 so I know there’s a fair amount of cricket to be played.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission