New Zealand unveil squad for Ireland and England Tests, Jamieson, O'Rourke return

Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke have returned to New Zealand’s Test team, as they unveiled their squad for the upcoming series against Ireland and England on Wednesday, May 6. The Kiwis will first face Ireland for a one-off Test in May and will further lock horns with England for a three-match Test series in June.

Jamieson will be playing his first Test in more than two years since suffering a back stress fracture in February 2024, during the first Test against South Africa. His workload has since been managed carefully by the team management as the all-rounder has only played white-ball cricket since his return from injury in March 2025.

On the other hand, O’Rourke was also down with a back stress fracture since the Test tour to Zimbabwe in July 2025 and spent eight months on the sidelines. He recently marked his return during the white-ball tour of Bangladesh and scalped five wickets across the three ODIs.  

Jamieson and O’Rourke will join the pace-heavy squad consisting of Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Sears, Michael Rae and Kristian Clarke. Rae and uncapped seamer Kristian Clarke have been named only for the Ireland Test, to be played from May 27-31 at Civil Service Cricket Club, Belfast. The fixture is not a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2025-27.

Bracewell takes a break from Test cricket

However, New Zealand will be without Jacob Duffy, who shattered record books in 2025 by taking 81 wickets across formats, the most by a New Zealand bowler in a calendar year, breaking Sir Richard Hadlee's record.  Duffy is expecting the birth of his first child and hence has decided to stay back home with his family.

All-rounder Dean Foxcroft has earned his maiden Test call-up after impressive performances on New Zealand’s recent white-ball tour of Bangladesh. Meanwhile, all-rounder Michael Bracewell wasn’t available for selection as he has expressed his desire to step back from Test cricket and focus his time on his young family and limited-overs cricket.

New Zealand Test squad: Tom Latham (capt), 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)