Kyle Jamieson ruled out of Tests against England due to back stress fracture 

New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson's return to cricket has taken a setback after the recurrence of a back stress fracture, which rules him out of the upcoming two-match Test series against England at home. Along with him, fellow pacer Matt Henry is also set to miss the first Test as he is expecting the birth of his first child.

Jamieson initially sustained the injury during the tour of England in June 2022. New Zealand lost the series by a 3-0 margin and the all-rounder has not featured in international cricket since.

He returned to the domestic fold in January 2023, representing Auckland, and was even part of the New Zealand XI that took on England in a two-day tour game on February 8.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead told reporters:

"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. 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."

Stead continued:

"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."

Jamieson has been integral for the Kiwis for the balance in the playing XI. He proved his caliber at the highest following an excellent start to his Test career, which also included a player-of-the-match display in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2021 against India.

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"We will give priority to the locally contracted players" - New Zealand considered bringing in Trent Boult to replace Kyle Jamieson

The absence of Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry leaves New Zealand with a depleted pace bowling unit.

Head coach Gary Stead admitted that the management considered Trent Boult as an option, but instead chose to look towards other options in the list of contracted players.

Speaking about the prospect of including Boult in the squad, Stead said:

"We have spoken to Trent Boult recently and it has been decided since he gave up his contract that we will give priority to the locally contracted players and we have done that on this occasion."

He continued:

"It does not mean we have ruled Trent out from anything in the future. There will be ongoing discussion and we're not sure what the landscape of the cricket world will look like in six months. It might change again."

Boult has been highly active on the franchise cricket circuit since representing New Zealand at the T20 World Cup 2022. Not part of the central contract system, the left-arm pacer was not included in the India tour and instead played in the Big Bash League (BBL) and the International League T20 (ILT20).

The likes of Scott Kuggeleijn and Jacob Duffy have been included in the squad for the Test series. The latter was seen during the tour of India, while Kuggeleijn's last game for New Zealand came during the tour of Bangladesh in 2021.

Will Kyle Jamieson be fit in time for the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL)? Let us know what you think.

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