Pace bowler Kyle Jamieson, whose first six Test matches powered New Zealand into World Test Championship (WTC) final against India, ensured during Indian Premier League that his franchise skipper Virat Kohli didn’t get to face him with the Dukes ball he was carrying for practice.
Kyle Jamieson Gears up for Dukes Ball
On his first tour of England, Jamieson would have the likes of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, and Doug Bracewell and the youngster can follow their footsteps in order to achieve success in the UK.
“Their experience will be really helpful, from the guys like Tim, Wags, Doug and even Henry as well, who’s played a lot over here. There’s so much experience around English conditions and what the Duke ball can do. So I’ll try and look and lean on for the next few weeks,” says Jamieson.
When asked about the challenges of bowling with the Duke ball, Jamieson said: “It’s is certainly a bit different – it’s a bit darker and harder as well, and the seam is a little bit more narrow. So it’s just about trying to get used to that and the hands.”
“There have been conversations around what the Duke ball can do, but whilst being mindful of the fact that you don’t want to go searching too much and try to move the ball too much, and then getting caught on the bounce a little bit. So I’m sure over the next few days we’ll have a few more conversations on what it looks like and then go from there,” he added.
Jamieson has played 6 Test matches for New Zealand and has picked 36 wickets at an average of 13.27. Jamieson has also scored 226 runs with the bat with an impressive average of 56.5.
Interestingly, NZ have won all six Test matches Jamieson has played in. England and New Zealand will be locking horns in two Tests, beginning June 2 at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
