Kyle Jamieson returned home with an impressive figure of 2/42 in his ODI debut. (Source: Twitter/BlackCaps)
Kyle Jamieson’s one-day international career got off to a spectacular start, as the 6 ft 8 inches cricketer returned home with an impressive man of the match performance in Auckland on Sunday. With the ball, the 25-year-old picked up 2/42 in 10 overs. He also played a crucial role with the bat, stitching an impressive 76-run partnership with Ross Taylor for the ninth wicket to guide the hosts to a resounding win over the Indian cricket team.
Jamieson’s performance at the Eden Park on Saturday saw him become the second Kiwi cricketer after Rob Nicol to be named as the Man-of-the-match in an ODI debut.
“Pretty surreal. You kind of grow up dreaming of these moments. Get your first cap and hope to make an impact and to play some sort of role in helping us first to get to a total and then restrict a pretty good batting line-up is very pleasing. And to have a series win tops it all,” Jamieson said after the match, which New Zealand won by 22 runs.
In terms of bowling, Jamieson started off with an unplayable delivery to get rid of Indian opener Prithvi Shaw in his very first over. He then went on to pick the important wicket of Navdeep Saini, who was playing the rescue act with Ravindra Jadeja late in the Indian innings.
Who is Kyle Jamieson?
Nicknamed ‘Killa’ the right-arm seamer operates in the early to mid-130s kph range but has certainly raised excitement due to the bounce he generates due to his height. Jamieson made his List A debut in 2014 for Canterbury and also went on to play his maiden first-class match later in the same year.
His primary job in the Kiwi unit is to deliver with the ball, but the 25-year-old is more than competent with the bat as well. Despite having just one fifty under his name in List A career, Jamieson strikes the ball at better than a run-a-ball and his unbeaten 25 from 24 on Saturday saw his batting average soar to 42.33.
The story so far
Jamieson has represented New Zealand in the 2014 U19 World Cup, where he bagged seven wickets in four matches.
He has consistently delivered in the domestic circuit, but in one particular spell where he went to pick six wickets in a T20 contest against Auckland Aces in the Super Smash added a major boost in his cricketing profile. His 6/7 for Canterbury still remains as the best figure in the history of New Zealand domestic cricket and overall joint-fourth-best in all men’s T20s.
The tall Kiwi cricketer showcased his abilities with the ball in the New Zealand A one-dayers against India, in which he picked six wickets from three matches, which also includes a spell of 4/49 in the final encounter.
Jamieson was picked as a replacement for injured Lockie Ferguson for the Test series against Australia but didn’t get a game. And now as the New Zealand pace attack is hampered by injuries, the 25-year-old finally got an opportunity against India, which eventually resulted in the best possible way for the 25-year-old.