Kyle Jamieson revels in his role as leader of New Zealand pace pack

VADODARA: With the Kiwis boasting of riches in their pace bowling stock, Kyle Jamieson doesn't figure in New Zealand's squad for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next month, which is still a bit surprising. The Kiwis preferring to have their new pace bowling sensation Jacob Duffey, the still fairly quick Lockie Ferguson, experienced Matt Henry and Adam Milne as their four pacers for the mega tournament.

On Sunday night at the BCA Stadium, Jamieson took a career-best haul in ODIs, taking four for 41 in 10 overs to give India a big scare, before the hosts scraped though for a four-wicket win in the first ODI. The 31-year-old pacer gave the Kiwis the first breakthrough when he had an on-song Rohit Sharma caught at mid-off while trying to clear him over the infield, and then effected real damage later in the game, triggering India's stunning collapse by first spoiling the crowd's mood by denying Virat Kohli's hundred when he was seven short, having the superstar batter, who danced down the track, caught at mid-off. He then dislodged a well-set Shreyas Iyer's off-stump with a cross-seamer, and then had Jadeja mistiming a poor shot to short mid-wicket with another such delivery.



Only the third New Zealand bowler to take a four-wicket haul in an ODI match played against India in India.

Jamieson’s superb figures didn’t help New Zealand secure a win in the first ODI against India, but it did help him become only the third New Zealand bowler to take a four-wicket haul in an ODI match played against India in India after left-arm pacer Andy McKay and Trent Boult.

After arriving in India, Jamieson had told reporters in Mumbai that while his tall frame- he is 6'8"-allows him to extract generous bounce off the wicket, in India he has to adjust his length, slipping in the fuller ball occasionally.

“It’s just trying to get (batters) bounced right, and probably in this part of the world it doesn’t sort of extract as much bounce. Probably the thing is how do you adjust your length where other guys maybe can’t go and use those attributes as best you can. And try to slip in the fuller one when you can,” he said.

In a series where the Black Caps are missing the likes of Henry, Ferguson and Duffy, Jamieson, who has surprisingly played just 21 ODIs in his career, picking up 28 wickets, has emerged as the leader of the pack, a fact acknowledged by NZ's ODI captain Michael Bracewell on the eve of the first ODI. "We have Kyle Jamieson, who's been around the game a long time and has plenty of experience. I'll be leaning a lot on him as captain to lead the bowling attack. He's a very skilful bowler,” Bracewell had said.

Asked whether he considers himself as the chief of the highly inexperienced Kiwi pace brigade on the India tour, Jamieson said, "Of course. Trying to help each other. And I've been fortunate to come to this country a few times, and to experience. And you see, I was trying to try to pass wisdom onto those boys, and it was so cool just to see them experience this for the first time."

Talking about his cricketing journey, Jameson, who has played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and represented Punjab Kings in IPL-2025 (he took five wickets in four matches@29.40, including 3-48 in the final), confessed that he wasn't ready for the IPL when he got an opportunity to play in it. The fast bowler also spoke about his recurring back injury, which forced him to undergo a surgery in 2023, and has forced him to miss many games during his career.

"Like any player's journey, it's got its ups and downs and its own experiences. And I guess, in a way, I was fortunate to sort of burst onto the scene, in a way, and have a bit of an impact and spend some time here with the IPL early on, and certainly it was an eye-opening experience, and something I probably wasn't quite ready for at that, at that stage of my life. And you've obviously been on a bit of a journey as well, with the sort of back issues over the last sort of couple of years," Jamieson said.

Clearly, the man loves playing in India and is content with life. "It's nice to be back in this country. I think my perspective has changed a fair bit. I sort of look at touring and playing cricket and just being in the park with a fair amount of gratitude these days, and today was no different. I just try to really enjoy the moment. Enjoy what playing cricket in this country brings you. Unfortunately, (we) couldn't quite get over the line today, but it's certainly a lot of lessons and a lot to be proud of, for sure," he said.


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