Online Reporter
MATT Fisher wasn’t supposed to be in New Zealand’s Test squad for the upcoming two-match series in Zimbabwe which gets underway at Queens Sports Club tomorrow.
Having just worked his way back from injury, the 25-year-old Northern Districts fast bowler was building up his loads for the New Zealand A tour of South Africa, which begins next month, instead.
But, with a number of the top-rung fast bowlers away in T20 leagues and county cricket over the winter, Fisher was called up to New Zealand’s preparatory camp in the lead-up to the Zimbabwe tour as a net bowler.
New head coach Rob Walter was so impressed with his raw pace – he can hit 140kph and is regarded as one of the fastest in New Zealand – that he fast-tracked Fisher into the Test squad, Walter’s first since taking charge.
Walter had also previously coached Fisher on an A tour to India in 2022 and has been quite big on out-and-out fast bowlers.
‘‘Yeah, he (Walter) just pulled me aside for a chat. He said he was going to have a chat with me at the start of the camp,” Fisher recalled after winning his first call-up.
‘‘Had a bit to do with him with the A tour to India a couple of years ago, so I thought he was just going to catch up and see how my body was and just have a yarn.
‘‘And then just said he was interested in taking me to Zimbabwe and, yeah, to be honest, it’s probably just a blur from there. But, nah, it’s pretty epic stuff!”
With tearaway Ben Sears injured, Fisher has been called up to provide New Zealand’s attack with express pace.
Walter believes that Fisher can be an ‘X-factor’ bowler.
‘‘Raw pace is highly regarded everywhere in the world, and generally it brings a point of difference to your team,” Walter said.
‘‘So, for me, that’s the main thing. We’ve got Will O’Rourke, who’s probably the top end of speed in our team, and to have someone who can then come and back him up if needs be is very important from a squad point of view. But, as we build a battery of fast bowlers, we’re very blessed in the country at the moment to have a large number of really good, strong fast bowlers.
‘‘And we’re just adding Fish into that mix now, giving them a little bit of touring experience, a bit of taste of what it means to be part of the Black Caps, and that just bodes well for our stable of fast bowlers.”
Like Sears’ career, Fisher’s has been a litany of setbacks, from back issues and ankle injuries to shin splits more recently. Fisher played just three matches for Northern Districts in the 2024-25 Plunket Shield, taking 14 wickets at an average of 17.71.
But New Zealand’s coaches and his team-mates see potential and a high ceiling.
Overall, Fisher has picked up 51 wickets in 14 first-class matches at an average of 24.11.
‘‘Great to see Fish (in the Test side).
‘‘He’s had his injury troubles in the past, but, you know, in the last couple of seasons, at least for ND, he’s been bowling really quick and with great control,’’ Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand ODI captain and Fisher’s team-mate at Northern Districts, said.
‘‘I think he really impressed the boys back in New Zealand with that. When he arrives [in Zimbabwe], he will be pretty fired up and ready to go.
“For someone to be able to bounce back from injuries and potentially make a Test debut will be pretty cool for him.’’
Fisher’s emergence is a positive sign for a New Zealand attack that is in transition following the Trent Boult-Tim Southee era.
With Kyle Jamieson also on a personal break for the birth of his first child, New Zealand have included two uncapped quicks in their squad. – Cricinfo
