Napier [New Zealand], December 5 (ANI): New Zealand star speedster Kyle Jamieson has returned to the red-ball action in the Plunket Shield on Friday, according to ESPNcricinfo. Jamieson played his first FC (First-Class) game since February 2024.

Jamieson has been a regular player for New Zealand in white-ball cricket. However, the BlackCaps are not rushing with the right-arm pacer into Test cricket after recovering from a back injury.

New Zealand coach Rob Walter said Jamieson's workload and rhythm need to be monitored in the Plunket Shield, a view Jacob Oram, the bowling coach, agreed with.

'Kyle, as we know, is damn skilful. We also know he's a guy who has had a few niggles himself over the last 12-18 months and one major one with his back. So, we're just going to make sure we're careful with him. And like we always say to guys, the bigger picture is really important as well,' Oram said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

'I know we want to win every game and that's a given but at the same time it's not to the detriment of the longer-term picture. But if he's deemed ready to go, 100%...it will be great to have Kyle Jamieson with us. Let's see how things pan out - he's playing the Plunket Shield,' Oram added.

Jamieson told ESPNcricinfo that his bowling program has been managed by high-performance coaches Chelsea Lane and Matt Dallow, who are not formally part of New Zealand Cricket.

'They've done a huge amount of work in rebuilding athletes and biomechanics and just how to stack up your body properly. They advise on everything, right from how my body's moving, what my gym program looks like, what the [bowling] load numbers look like,' Jamieson said.

'I have reflection and review processes with them after pretty much every day that I bowl, my sort of weekly, monthly calendar is mapped out with them, my total load tracking is done through them. So I'm pretty much fully through them at the moment, and then apply it into the different cricket environments that I end up in,' New Zealand pacer added. (ANI)