The Black Caps have suffered a massive blow, with paceman Kyle Jamieson ruled out of the test series against England and, potentially, the rest of the season.
Jamieson was due to make his return from a long-term back injury and even played for the New Zealand XI in the warm-up match against England in Hamilton. But, he pulled up lame from that, with scans revealing a suspected stress fracture in his back.
It’s a huge setback for the towering right-armer who’s barely played any cricket since picking up the injury in New Zealand’s trip to England in June last year.
"It’s really gutting for Kyle to have this happen after he’d put so much hard work in to getting himself back on the park," Black Caps coach Gary Stead said.
"Since the injury in June we’ve certainly taken a cautious approach to managing his return with regular monitoring by our medical staff which has included scans.
"While Kyle’s not feeling any pain, the evidence is pretty clear he has a stress-fracture and so he’ll return to Christchurch today and have a CT scan on Friday before we decide on the next steps."
The 28-year-old isn't the only bowler ruled out of the first test in Mount Maunganui; Matt Henry won’t play at Bay Oval either after the birth of his first child.
"We’re delighted for Tom and Kate to have welcomed their second child into the world," Stead said.
"Family is always the priority in our environment and that’s informed the decision around Matt and his availability for the Test. We wish him and his wife Holly all the best as they await the birth of their first child in Christchurch."
The pair have been replaced by the uncapped duo of Jacob Duffy (Otago Volts) and Scott Kuggeleijn (Northern Districts) and will join the squad today in Mount Maunganui ahead of the opening day-night Test on Thursday at Bay Oval.
Duffy has been included on the past two Black Caps Test tours to England and is the second top wicket-taker at the halfway stage of the Plunket Shield with 22 wickets and two five-wicket hauls to his name.
Tom Blundell, who recently welcomed his second child will also link up with the side later today, along with Henry Nicholls who had his original flight from Christchurch on Monday cancelled due to Cyclone Gabrielle.
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