Despite his status as New Zealand's hero in the World Test Championship final victory over India, there's still plenty more to come from Blackcaps seamer Kyle Jamieson, says coach Gary Stead.
Since his debut in February 2020, Jamieson has emerged as one of the Blackcaps' standout players, winning seven of the eight tests he's played in.
In that time, Jamieson has taken a staggering 46 wickets at an average of just over 14 runs, as well as averaging more than 42 with the bat.
Barring a severe dip in form, Jamieson will almost certainly beat Shane Bond's (12) record of becoming the fastest Blackcap to 50 test wickets, needing to take four more in his next three tests.
Seven of those wickets came in the World Test Championship final victory, including a first innings haul of 5/31, with Jamieson removing Indian captain Virat Kohli - twice.
But speaking after New Zealand's World Test Championship success, coach Stead is confident that Jamieson is only getting started.
"What Kyle's done has surprised a lot of people, and I think probably even surprised himself with how successful he's been," Stead says.
"But when you watch Kyle prepare, watch him train, watch him try and learn from all the experiences he's had, and then put it with the attributes he's got, it's pretty special the player that he is now, but I think what's more special is the player he could become.
"I don't think he's the finished product yet, I think he would say he's still learning, and that's really exciting for us as a team that we have someone who can come in and change the game as Kyle did.
Stead also insists that Jamieson's success isn't solely down to the 6-foot-8 seamer, forming part of arguably New Zealand's best ever bowling attack.
"Remember he's only part of what is a very good bowling unit though.
"I think guys around him, with Tim [Southee], Trent [Boult] and Neil [Wagner] in particular have formed a formidable combination as a bowling unit.
"That's exciting for us as a team."
Recovering from the disappointment of the 2015 and 2019 World Cup final defeats, Stead is certain that the World Test Championship final will be the start of a new era for the Blackcaps, with everything in place to carry on as one of world cricket's premier sides.
"I know that this has been going on for a long time, and we've been tracking nicely for the last four or five years, when you look over a longer period of time," Stead adds.
"The way I look at this now, there's some really strong cornerstones of what I think is important around playing winning cricket.
"I hope for us as a team, that this is only the beginning of us having some success for a long, long period of time."
