Feeling 'fresh' and 'energised': Kyle Jamieson after his return to Test cricket


image-ldpjc5s8Jamieson is back in New Zealand Test side [Source: Twitter]

Kyle Jamieson made his long waited return to Test cricket when New Zealand announced their squad for the England series on Thursday.

The lanky pacer was sidelined for a considerable period of time due to a back injury but feels 'fresh' and 'energised' after getting called up to the national side.

He hurt his back during the Trent Bridge Test match last year against England, and since then has played a couple of games for Auckland. The back injury took a toll on his body mentally and physically, but Jamieson is raring to stamp his authority if given a chance in the two-match Test series.

"It's certainly nice to be back in the squad, first time in a wee while, so excited about that," he said. "It's been nice, the journey through club cricket and the process of coming back. Nice to tick off a couple of milestones, and to have another one today [after being selected for the Test squad]."

"So a whole range of emotions, but right from early on I wanted to treat the process as more of a blessing than a hindrance and try to focus on what I was gaining from this time, six, seven months or whatever it's been. Try to focus my energy in that sort of way, and obviously nice to be back.

"The nature of the schedule these days, we play so much cricket, and it had been two, two-and-a-half years straight for me. So to have an extended period at home as been nice, certainly feeling fresh, energised, both mentally and physically. So looking forward to taking this next step."

Jamieson was one of New Zealand's star pacer before the injury. He had a rapid rise in international cricket, and helped his side clinch the inaugural ICC World Test Championship against India in 2021.

The New Zealand team management are keeping an eye on his recovery process, and it'll be interesting to see if he gets a nod in the first Test, starting on February 16.


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