New Zealand announce 19-member Test squad for Ireland and England tours
The New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has made the announcement to reveal the the 19-member Test squad for the upcoming Ireland and England tours.
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New Zealand have been blessed with the return of Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke in their Test squad for the upcoming one-off contest against Ireland and the following three-match series against England. They will, however, be without Jacob Duffy, who took 81 wickets across formats last year.
Kyle Jamieson is set to play his first Test in more than two years since suffering a back stress fracture in February 2024. He has played only one white-ball game for the Blackcaps before marking his return to the red-ball games in the domestic competition, where he picked up five wickets in 29.3 overs for Canterbury.
Kane Williamson and Kyle Jamieson return in New Zealand’s Test squad
New Zealand’s former captain, Kane Williamson, has been named in the 19-member touring party. The 35-year-old is currently at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 as the strategist of the Lucknow Super Giants and is 539 runs away from becoming the first Kiwi batter to get 10000 runs.
“Jake has been hugely impressive and influential across all formats, but this is a far more important period of his life coming up, and we're fully supportive of him and his wife, Tash. It's a great privilege to start this next period of sustained red-ball cricket with all our pace bowlers ready to go.” Their head coach, Rob Walter, said in a statement.
“Kyle's been on a journey of getting his body ready for Test cricket. He's really fit and strong at the moment and will bring a unique edge to our bowling line-up. Will brings a quality set of skills and physical attributes which make him a hugely exciting addition to any Test team.” He addressed.
Squad: Tom Latham (captain), Tom Blundell (wk), Kristian Clarke (Ireland Test only), Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae (Ireland Test only), Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears (Ireland Test and travelling reserve for England Tests), Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young (Ireland Test only)
Michael Bracwell takes break from Test cricket
Kristian Clarke, who is uncapped in the longest format, has been given the opportunity, while Ben Sears has been named in the squad for the one-off clash against Ireland, which will run from May 27 to 30 in Belfast. That’s not part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025/27.
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Meanwhile, Michael Bracewell, who featured in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 recently, has made himself unavailable for the longest format, with an eye to the white-ball format. That means Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips will need to do the spin bowling if required.
Mitchell Santner hasn’t been part of both squads due to the injury, while Tom Blundell is the only specialist wicket-keeper in the side, along with the services of Tom Latham, if needed. The England series will begin on June 04 at Lord’s, which is five days after the end of the IPL 2026 final on May 31.
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