New Zealand fast bowler Will O'Rourke, who is recovering from a back injury, could return to action next month, according to Black Caps selector Gavin Larsen. O'Rourke, 24, suffered the injury during the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in July last year. He has not played any competitive cricket since, with New Zealand carefully managing his return-to-play programme.
O'Rourke could return to action for New Zealand A in Sri Lanka or for the senior side in Bangladesh, with both tours likely to overlap with the IPL and the PSL.
"He's being managed really well in terms of his rehab," Larsen said after the T20I squad was announced for the home series against South Africa. "We've just wanted to be patient with Will and so having an athlete be patient sometimes is difficult and I know Will's been like a bull in a china shop wanting to get back on the park but also understands very clearly that he's an important resource for us.
"So, we're taking a long-term plan with Will's return to play. So, he will be on the park this month, not necessarily at first-class level, but he will also play a role through April for us and that will be revealed once we name the touring squads."
With a big block of Test cricket coming up for New Zealand, their focus is to keep O'Rourke, who is regarded as a point-of-difference bowler with his towering frame and high point of release, injury-free. Apart from hosting India at home, New Zealand are set to tour England and Australia for Test series later in the year.
"Obviously we've got some pretty big cricket that emerges through the middle of the year with the Test matches," Larsen said. "We've got ten really big Test matches which are almost in a way back-to-back. So, having a Will O'Rourke fit and fresh and being able to utilise him through that period is crucial."
Other fast bowlers such as Adam Milne and Blair Tickner are also currently injured, but despite those setbacks New Zealand managed to reach the final of the 2026 T20 World Cup and prior to that won their first-ever bilateral ODI series in India. In an ever-changing cricketing landscape, Larsen prioritised the management and development of fast bowlers.
"It's a very complex cricketing world we live in now," Larsen said. "We've got a lot of bilateral cricket, we've got the pinnacle events, we've got the T20 franchise leagues that just sit heavily on top of that programme now and all that means is that the players' workload is stretched in all directions.
"So, we're very, very conscious that we've got to manage our players and that might mean having to make difficult decisions every now and then in terms of who we rest and when and being quite measured and pragmatic particularly when you're bringing, say, pace bowlers back from injury and not rushing them back in. So, building the stocks of fast bowlers around the country is a very, very important one."
'McConchie will bank World Cup success forever'
A wildcard pick for the T20 World Cup after Michael Bracewell failed to recover in time from injury, Cole McConchie, 34 emerged as an unlikely strike bowler against left-hand batters and also provided batting depth. Larsen suggested that McConchie has been on Black Caps' selection radar for a long time, but there was no room to fit him in. Now with Bracewell still on the road to recovery, McConchie is set to feature in his first international game at home after playing 22 matches in the subcontinent or the UAE.
"Oh look, it's special," Larsen said of McConchie's success in Sri Lanka and India. "But more importantly he's jumped on the plane, he's gone to the World Cup and he's delivered a couple of really meaningful performances with the bat in that first game with Mitch [Mitchell Santner] and then two wickets in an over in that semi-final with the left-handers. He'll bank that forever.
"I think the bigger picture is that it's a reflection of the depth that we've got in our system that we can move to a player like Cole who has sat on our succession plan as long as I've been involved. So, that's sort of 10 years now. And he's played, we know that. There's been a logjam of players above him. To see him get the nod and then perform is lovely."