New Zealand fast bowler Will O’Rourke is edging towards competitive cricket again, a little under nine months after a back complaint forced him out of the first Test in Bulawayo. Selector Gavin Larsen confirmed on Tuesday that the 24-year-old’s name is pencilled in for matches as early as next month, either with New Zealand A in Sri Lanka or the senior side in Bangladesh. The two tours overlap with the IPL and PSL, so squad depth will be tested everywhere.
“He’s being managed really well in terms of his rehab,” Larsen explained, standing in front of the white-board where squads are shuffled almost daily. “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.”
O’Rourke, tall, bustling and able to hit the splice from a high release, has not bowled a ball in anger since July. The medical staff have limited him to short spells off his full run, followed by lengthy gym sessions rather than overs in the middle. The next step is match fitness, though Larsen is adamant they will not rush. “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.”
That caution is driven by what lies ahead: ten Tests, virtually back-to-back, against India at home before long haul trips to England and Australia. “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.”
New Zealand’s injury list is not limited to O’Rourke. Adam Milne (side strain) and Blair Tickner (foot) remain sidelined. Even so, the Black Caps reached the final of the 2026 T20 World Cup and, before that, claimed a first bilateral ODI series victory in India. Success, Larsen insists, does not mask the workload conundrum. “It’s a very complex cricketing world we live in now,” he 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.”
Hence the continual juggling act, picking the right tour for the right bowler. “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.”
One beneficiary of that approach has been Canterbury all-rounder Cole McConchie. Drafted late into the T20 World Cup squad after Michael Bracewell failed to recover from a ruptured achilles, McConchie chipped in with handy overs and lower-order runs during the campaign. Support staff believe that experience will serve him – and New Zealand – well. As one coach murmured on the boundary in the Caribbean: “McConchie will bank World Cup success forever.” And if O’Rourke’s rehabilitation stays on track, the selectors hope they will soon have another fresh option to bank on when the Test calendar turns relentless.
For now, the message is patience. O’Rourke will bowl again in the next fortnight, match situations to follow, but the priority is that he stays on the park for the long haul rather than just a cameo in April.
