New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson has made his return to red-ball cricket, featuring in the Plunket Shield on Friday, his first First-Class appearance since February 2024, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. While he has been active in white-ball formats for the Black Caps, management is taking a cautious approach with his comeback following his recent back injury struggles.
The coaching staff has made it clear that Jamieson won't be rushed back into Test cricket. Head coach Rob Walter and bowling coach Jacob Oram believe the fast bowler needs time to build rhythm and workload gradually in domestic cricket.
Kyle Jamieson’s focus on long-term fitness, not immediate test return
Oram emphasised the importance of patience with Jamieson’s progress. “Kyle is damn skilful, but he has had niggles over the past 12–18 months, including a major back issue. We need to be careful with him. The bigger picture is important,” he said.
He highlighted that while winning every match matters, it cannot come at the cost of Jamieson’s long-term fitness.
“If he's ready, 100% he’ll be with us. But we won’t compromise his future. Let’s see how things go, he’s playing the Plunket Shield,” Oram added.
Jamieson also revealed that his recovery and bowling workload are currently overseen by high-performance experts Chelsea Lane and Matt Dallow, who operate independently of New Zealand Cricket.
“They’ve done huge work rebuilding athletes, biomechanics, body loading. They advise on everything, movement patterns, gym work, load numbers,” Jamieson shared.
He added that he regularly reviews his bowling plans with the pair, mapping weekly and monthly training cycles to prevent setbacks while transitioning across cricket environments.
