Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of Day 1 of the one-off Test between Ireland and New Zealand, being held in Belfast from May 27-30.
PLAXING XI
Irish: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Stephen Doheny, Cade Carmichael, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Liam McCarthy, Reuben Wilson, Thomas Mayes.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Dean Foxcroft, Nathan Smith, Zakary Foulkes, Blair Tickner, Ben Sears.
TOSS
Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl.
PREVIEW
Ireland and New Zealand will lock horns in a one-off four-day Test match at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast from Wednesday.
The Kiwis will look to make the most of the contest ahead of their three-match Test series against England, which begins next month. New Zealand’s last Test assignment was a 2–0 series win over West Indies at home last year in December. It is currently ranked second in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
On the other hand, Ireland, which doesn’t take part in the WTC, is coming off a 0-2 series defeat in Bangladesh last year and will want to use this match as an opportunity to level up in the longest format.
New Zealand will be led by Tom Latham, who has racked up an impressive captaincy record since he was appointed full-time skipper in 2024. The host will be captained by Andrew Balbirnie, who is Ireland’s third-highest run-scorer in Test matches.
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The one-off Test match between Ireland and New Zealand will not be televised live in India on any TV channel. However, the match can be streamed live on the FanCode app and website from 3:30 PM IST.
THE SQUADS
Irish: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Harry Tector, Cade Carmichael, Curtis Campher, Jake Egan, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Matthew Humphreys, Craig Young, Reuben Wilson, Thomas Mayes, Stephen Doheny, Liam McCarthy.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Zakary Foulkes, Michael Rae, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Henry Nicholls, Blair Tickner, Nathan Smith, Ben Sears, Dean Foxcroft, Kristian Clarke, William O’Rourke.
Published on May 27, 2026
