Kyle Jamieson ruled out of the upcoming Test Series against England

Kyle Jamieson of New Zealand has been ruled out of the forthcoming two-match Test series against England owing to a possible stress fracture in his back. Matt Henry, his pace partner, will miss the opening Test at Bay Oval due to the birth of his first child. Their replacements   Jacob Duffy and Scott Kuggeleijn have been named. 

Jamieson's condition is a recurrence of the back problem he suffered during the England trip last year. Jamieson bounced back, playing for the Auckland Aces in the Super Smash and Ford Trophy, as well as taking part in the New Zealand XI's practise game against England in Hamilton. However, following the practice game, he underwent a scan, which indicated a possible back stress fracture.

"It's really gutting for Kyle to have this happen after he'd put so much hard work in to getting himself back on the park. Since the injury in June we've certainly taken a cautious approach to managing his return with regular monitoring by our medical staff which has included scans," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.

"While Kyle's not feeling any pain, the evidence is pretty clear he has a stress-fracture and so he'll return to Christchurch today and have a CT scan on Friday before we decide on the next steps," he added.

Meanwhile, Duffy has played on two New Zealand Test visits to England. He is also the Plunket Shield's second top wicket-taker, with 22 wickets. Kuggeleijn, on the other hand, has 274 first-class wickets at 32.52. The speed duo will arrive in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday ahead of the series opener against England on February 16.