Kyle Jamieson ruled out of England ODI series with side stiffness

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against England after experiencing side stiffness during training at Bay Oval on Saturday.

The 30-year-old quick felt discomfort while bowling ahead of Sunday’s series opener, prompting New Zealand Cricket to take a precautionary approach given his history of stress fractures — including one sustained following back surgery.

“Kyle experienced some stiffness in his side after bowling today and we didn’t want to take any risks at this stage of the summer,” head coach Rob Walter said. “We felt it was best for him to sit out this one-day series and give himself the best chance of being ready for the West Indies tour which starts on November 5 in Auckland.”

Jamieson will return home to Christchurch for further assessment. New Zealand is expected to name a replacement after the opening round of the Ford Trophy, the domestic one-day competition, concludes on Saturday.

The right-arm pacer recently made his international return earlier this month against Australia in the T20I series at Mount Maunganui, where he took one wicket in the opening game.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo last month, Jamieson discussed his careful workload management since recovering from last year’s stress fracture. His bowling program is being overseen by high-performance coaches Chelsea Lane and Matt Dallow, who specialize in biomechanics and athlete rehabilitation.

“They’ve done a huge amount of work in rebuilding athletes and biomechanics and just how to stack up your body properly,” Jamieson said. “I have reflection and review processes with them after pretty much every day that I bowl, and my total load tracking is done through them.”

New Zealand will now hope Jamieson can recover in time for the West Indies tour, with the first match scheduled for November 5 in Auckland.