Kyle Jamieson ruled out of England series; Jacob Duffy and Scott Kuggeleijn called up as replacement

New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson's bright international career is hit by yet another setback, as the tall pacer has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against England due to a suspected stress fracture. Jamieson's teammate Matt Henry is also unavailable for the Test series opener after leaving for the birth of his first child.

Kyle Jamieson made a blistering start to his international career in 2020 but has been marred with injuries, halting his progress on the biggest stage. The tall pacer suffered a back injury during last year's tour of England, and the latest setback is thought to be the reoccurrence of the same injury.

The tall bowling all-rounder missed the majority of action after his injury in June 2022, only to make a comeback in the Super Smash and Ford Trophy. He featured in New Zealand XI's practice game against England in Hamilton, where he suffered a stress fracture of the back. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead expressed his disappointment after Jamieson's latest injury.

"It's really gutting for Kyle to have this happen after he'd put so much hard work into getting himself back on the park. 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," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.

Jacob Duffy and Scott Kuggeleijn have received a late call-up to the Black Caps’ squad due to Jamieson and Matt Henry's absence and are in line to make their Test debut at the Bay Oval. Henry is likely to return to the squad ahead of the second Test. The upcoming series is not a part of the WTC cycle, with the first Test match of the series commencing on February 16.

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