It’s not unexpected news, but it’s certainly far from ideal.
Just a day after being thrashed by England in the first Test at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, the Black Caps now face the prospect of being without one of their key bowling weapons for months, with Kyle Jamieson’s stress fracture confirmed.
“He’s seen a surgeon and he’s getting back surgery later in the week,” coach Gary Stead said plainly when delivering the news this morning.
“It’s obviously been a challenging and difficult time for Kyle and it’s a big loss for us. He’s been fantastic around all of our side when he’s been a part of them.”
Stead said Jamieson faced at least three to four months on the sidelines.
“Surgery actually provides this with being a quicker return to play and that’s the encouraging thing for him.
"A number of world class players have had surgery in the back and it’s different periods of time they recover. We just want to give Kyle the best chance of recovery because we know what a star he’s been for us.”
What New Zealand would’ve done to have Jamieson available against the onslaught of the England batting.
Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Scott Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner were all attacked at different times of the Test.
In some positive news, Matt Henry will be welcomed back into the squad for the second Test after the birth of his first child. He has replaced Jacob Duffy while Ish Sodhi also drops out of the squad.
Overall, Stead said the Black Caps were disappointed with the result and they now have to find ways to counter England's aggressive style.
“One thing we pride ourselves on and we’re looking forward to is to get to Wellington and putting our foot forward for the next Test," he said.
"We can’t wait to get there and play our style and our brand of cricket and hopefully put some pressure back on England.
“We believe these are our best cricketers and we’re going to put everything behind them to make sure we can go out there and throw some punches back at England.”
The second Test at Wellington's Basin Reserve starts on Friday.
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