From the day he was named Black Caps head coach, Rob Walter has been consistent in saying that finding the balance between players’ club and international commitments will be his biggest challenge.
Now, with Will O’Rourke sidelined for at least three months with a stress fracture in his back, that challenge has been made all the more clear.
The 24-year-old has been ruled out for at least three months, but at the very least has avoided the need for surgery to fix an issue that fast bowlers in general know all too well.
In short, fast bowlers are, more than any other type of cricketer, prone to stress fractures, given the forces at play through the spine when delivering ball after ball at high intensity.
O’Rourke’s injury, though, is merely a byproduct of cricket’s biggest problem in 2025 – overkill.
Given the rise and rise of franchise Twenty20 leagues, mostly backed by private equity, international cricketers are playing more than they ever have before.
A lack of alignment within the game’s administration has also seen an increase in the amount of internationals being played.
Until 2031 at the earliest, there will be at least one world event – a 50- or 20-over World Cup, Champions Trophy or World Test Championship final – every year, on top of the countless bilateral internationals played between two nations.
And, considering that disconnect between those franchise leagues and international boards, do not expect any de-cluttering of the cricket calendar any time soon.
That, though, leaves players with choices to make: do they prioritise the pride of representing their countries? Or chase the huge sums of money available on the franchise circuit?
As a result, fast bowlers in particular are bearing the brunt of increased workloads.
This year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai saw the likes of Indian superstar Jasprit Bumrah, Australia’s entire frontline pace attack of captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and South African quick Anrich Nortje ruled out – or skip the tournament altogether.
O’Rourke is no different. After being ruled out of the 2024 home summer with a hamstring injury against Australia, the 1.97m quick has been a fixture across all three formats.
Since making his comeback in September last year, O’Rourke has played all nine Black Caps tests he was available for – three apiece against India and England, two against Sri Lanka and one against Zimbabwe, where he felt stiffness in his back.
On top of that, he’s played 14 ODIs, four T20 Internationals and 13 franchise T20 matches across stints with English outfit Yorkshire and the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League.
That stiffness, it turns out, was a stress fracture.
Despite only starting as Black Caps head coach in Zimbabwe this month, Walter knows the struggle of the club versus country tug-of-war all too well.
As South Africa’s white-ball coach, Walter’s Proteas side were consistently hampered, as his best and brightest players were often unavailable due to their franchise commitments.
And even in his new role, that struggle is something Walter knows New Zealand Cricket cannot afford to get wrong.
“That is the biggest challenge facing international cricket, getting the balance right,” he said.
“That was a focus point of mine coming into the job. We haven’t really had the opportunity to really put that into place just yet, but we are busy doing that.
“Those conversations are happening with all of our players, to make sure we get that balance right. It’s not a perfect science, there’s no right or wrong.
“Our best thinking is how to peak for events and specific series, and give our players the best chance to be ready.”
Regardless, O’Rourke’s stress fracture does hammer home the modern reality for fast bowlers. Since coming back in Sri Lanka, he’s effectively played non-stop for the last 11 months.
In the past, the Black Caps have attempted to manage O’Rourke’s workload through rest and rotation.
O’Rourke’s injury is cruelly similar to that of his contemporary, Kyle Jamieson – who himself hasn’t played a test since February 2024, when he too suffered a stress fracture in the back against South Africa. Ironically, that injury opened the door for O’Rourke to debut one test later.
But as far as Walter is concerned, given the increase of games now being played at all levels, finding solutions to managing workloads becomes the most vital part of keeping players fit and healthy.
“It’s very easy to look at this injury in isolation and draw conclusions from various areas,” he continued.
“There have been many fast bowlers who’ve had stress fractures who’ve played much less cricket.
“The bottom line is managing players is critical, managing guys who’ve got access to a lot of different cricket is critical for us. We understand that.
“It’s not a perfect science with this stuff. It’s a matter of us sitting down and thinking what our best thinking is. Sitting down with the player and making sure we’re all on the same page with regards to [what] the next three months, six months, 12 months and 18 months look like.
“Will is a critical part of our bowling line-up. To make sure we do our best to manage him well will be at the forefront [of our minds].”
All the same, as far as O’Rourke is concerned, don’t expect any lightening of the load.
Given the huge sums of money available in white-ball cricket, in combination with the prestige of the red-ball game, O’Rourke’s own wishes will see him want to play across all three forms of cricket.
And even with the need to find a balance between playing and rest, and New Zealand’s ever-deepening pool of fast bowlers to choose from, Walter knows exactly what O’Rourke brings to the Black Caps.
“We’ve seen him do well across all formats, we certainly see that he has a future across all formats,” he said.
“Just given the workload of all three, we’ll take it easy and take it as it comes. It makes most sense that he’ll come into T20 cricket before test cricket, but it’s a step process of being ready.
“Will has been part of all three formats, we see him as a huge part of our bowling stable.
“We’ll give him every opportunity to be available for whichever format [he wants to play in].”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.