One test for Jamieson on comeback
Veteran NZ Davis Cup tennis player started to think the worst after his car lost power and started floating on an Auckland motorway resembling a river. Brendon Egan reports.
Kyle Jamieson will play just one of the two tests against England this month as his injury comeback is carefully managed.
Black Caps coach Gary Stead said the towering pace bowler was highly likely to play the series opener with the pink ball at Tauranga’s Bay Oval, starting on February 16, but sit out the second in Wellington.
Jamieson was included in a 14-strong New Zealand squad for the series and is likely to be part of a fourstrong
Kpace attack at Bay Oval alongside captain Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Neil Wagner. He hasn’t played for his country since suffering a back injury in England in June.
Pace spearhead Trent Boult would not be considered for the second test in Jamieson’s potential absence, Stead said, despite Boult returning from the UAE T20 league in time. Boult handed in his Black Caps contract to free himself up for T20 opportunities.
‘‘That’s just about [Jamieson’s] continued rehabilitation and making sure we don’t put him in a compromising position going forward when we’ve still got important matches iwi tennis stalwart Rubin Statham started thinking the worst during a scary experience while driving during the Auckland floods on January 27.
The 35-year-old could overtake Onny Parun’s mark for the most Davis Cup victories (singles and doubles) for New Zealand in this weekend’s World Group 1 playoff tie against Bulgaria in Christchurch. The pair are tied on 30 wins, 28 of those coming in singles for Statham.
But Tennis was the last thing on his mind a week ago after being caught up in deep floodwater.
Statham left the Albany Tennis Park for his home in Takapuna, which would usually take about 12 minutes. Driving on Auckland’s Northern Motorway, the road quickly resembled a river with Statham and other road users trying to move off to the side.
‘‘Basically the highway became a lake and I had to go around the side through the water and halfway through the water my car started floating and then turned off completely,’’ he said.
‘‘There was fumes coming out of the front and fumes started coming out where the A/C [air conditioning] comes out. I turned down my window to get the fumes out.’’
Statham admitted there were a few anxious moments with his vehicle floating for five minutes without electronics. Thankfully, a four-wheel drive nudged him from behind and helped push him through to the exit ramp with his car coming up throughout the rest of the year,’’ Stead said.
New Zealand play four home tests within the space of 33 days with Sri Lanka arriving for two tests in March in Christchurch and Wellington.
Jamieson, who has returned via club cricket and T20 and 50-over matches for Auckland, will play for the New Zealand XI in a two-day match against England in Hamilton on Wednesday and Thursday.
Should Jamieson play in the first test in Tauranga, there wouldn’t be any specific restrictions on his overs in a day or spell, Stead said. They would be careful with how he was used though with the focus on his eventually regaining power.
‘‘There’s a small boundary to the right [of the road] where it just drops straight down, so I was thinking my car might go off the edge if it continued to float right.
‘‘That was actually pretty scary. It was pretty lucky I had that four-wheel drive behind me to get me through.’’
Statham never got to thank the driver for long-term availability and health. ‘‘We just feel now is the right time getting him to safety, but was grateful for their actions. It had provided him with some renewed perspective ahead of the Davis Cup tie.
‘‘It was lucky that car came through. I was considering what my next move would be. I was lucky to get through that one, so it’s my second life down here in Christchurch [this weekend].’’ with four tests in the next month or so that he is ready to take that next step, but again I lace that with a little bit of caution that we want to make sure we do the right thing by Kyle as well.
‘‘He’s obviously an important asset to us. There’s no doubt what he’s done at the start of his career is pretty amazing. We want to make sure we get him back to that form as well.’’
Jamieson has played one pink-ball match in his elite career, featuring for the New Zealand XI in a two-day match at Seddon Park when England toured the country in 2018.
He starred with the bat, blasting
New Zealand Davis Cup captain Kelly Evernden said if it hadn’t been for the driver Statham might have been ‘‘a duck without a head floating around in the water there’’.
‘‘It was a horrible thing to have happened.’’
Statham, who is New Zealand’s most capped Davis Cup player with 33 ties, debuting in 2005, returns to the side after 101 off 111 balls, which drew some words from frustrated English bowler James Anderson, with one of the umpires having to step in.
Jamieson has been back bowling since the start of November and operating off his full run since about early January.
‘‘While the eyes haven’t seen how many overs I’ve bowled, I’ve got a decent workload under my belt. It’s just another step on the journey and how we manage these next couple of weeks will be an ongoing discussion,’’ Jamieson said yesterday.
After such a lengthy injury layoff, he admitted to feeling some emotion when Stead informed him he was missing September’s 5-0 loss to Finland, following a dispute with Tennis NZ.
He proposed a preparation plan leading into the tie and wanted Davis Cup teammates Kiranpal Pannu and Ajeet Rai to join him for several overseas tournaments to be at their peak.
Statham and Tennis NZ could not come to terms with the contract, but he said the returning to the test side for the first time in six months. Donning the black baggy again and representing his country would be a proud moment.
Seamer Henry is also set to return at Bay Oval after suffering an abdominal injury which occurred during the latter stages of the second test against Pakistan early last month.
Henry won’t participate in the warmup match against England with wife Holly due to give birth to their first child. Stead was confident Henry would hit the ground running in Tauranga if selected, despite limited recent cricket.
relationship had since improved and there had been positive steps forward.
‘‘It was unfortunate I couldn’t play that tie, but I think they’ve done things a bit more professionally for this tie and taken some things on board. It’s good to see and also for the next generation of players. If we’re looking at World Group Davis Cup and top 100 singles players we’re going to have to do things really professionally and with the right intentions.’’
Statham was passionate about New Zealand tennis and the country doing well on the world stage. His suggestions for the national body came from a good place, he said.
‘‘How I see other teams preparing into Davis Cup ties, it’s something we need to look at – the preparation phase leading in to really set ourselves up to have the best chance to win these ties. That’s what I’ve been pushing. That we do that collectively as a team and it’s good to see some improvements in that area.’’
If Statham could gain another singles win this weekend and move ahead of Parun, who made the final of the Australian Open in 1973, it would be meaningful.
In 2016, he took another record off Parun in Christchurch against Pakistan, becoming New Zealand’s most capped Davis Cup player with 26 ties.
‘‘It was my goal to get that singles record and I’ve done that and I’m tied with Onny for the most overall wins. I’m happy with being tied with Onny actually, that’s a great name to be tied with.’’
After some frustrating times with injury, including hip surgery in 2019, he was feeling the healthiest he had in several years.
Statham was also playing decent tennis, after what he rated as the best Davis Cup victory of his career last March, beating Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 7-6 6-2. Cuevas had a career-high singles ranking of 19 in 2016 and New Zealand won the World Group I tie 3-1 in Las Vegas.
At his most recent ATP Challenger New Caledonia Open event in January, he reached the quarterfinals in the singles and won the doubles with Colin Sinclair (Northern Mariana Islands).
Bulgaria would be a formidable opponent this weekend, but Statham said there was strong belief in the New Zealand side, especially with the tie at home.
‘‘I think on paper they’re favourites, but we’ve beaten many countries when we’ve been the underdog and we kind of thrive off that as a team.’’