{"id":454605,"date":"2026-05-31T22:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/454605\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T22:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:42:09","slug":"black-caps-v-england-matt-henry-fit-as-new-zealand-poised-to-unleash-first-choice-bowling-attack-at-lords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/454605\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Caps v England: Matt Henry fit, as New Zealand poised to unleash first-choice bowling attack at Lord\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

That, then, leaves the Black Caps\u2019 pace bowling stocks in frighteningly good health.<\/p>\n

Worryingly for opposition batters, the pair of Jamieson and O\u2019Rourke are likely to take the field for the first time in a test match together. <\/p>\n

With both standing at well over six-feet tall, Jamieson and O\u2019Rourke are able to combine their height with incredible skill, as well as bowling aggression that\u2019s rarely seen in Kiwi cricketers.<\/p>\n

Jamieson hasn\u2019t played a test since February 2024, after a back injury sidelined him<\/a> from red ball cricket for nearly two years. In the time he was away, O\u2019Rourke more than took up Jamieson\u2019s mantle, before suffering a back injury of his own<\/a>, and missing all of the 2025-26 international summer.<\/p>\n

But with both now having completed their recoveries and return-to-play programmes<\/a>, the Black Caps will hope for both at their best over the next four weeks.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll, in all likelihood, be joined by Nathan Smith as the fourth seamer. While the start to Smith\u2019s international career hasn\u2019t exactly been smooth sailing, with injuries suffered mid-test against Zimbabwe and the West Indies, the 27-year-old last week showed what he\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n

Taking the new ball against Ireland, Smith returned figures of 6-40 <\/a>in the first innings, and 2-53 in the second, as the Black Caps wrapped up victory inside three days at Stormont.<\/p>\n

And while Blair Tickner also shone against Ireland, with a maiden five-wicket haul <\/a>in the second innings, Smith\u2019s batting gives him the tick to slot in at No 8 at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Smith appeals against Ireland. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got every intention of having all our fast bowlers fit, firing and ready for the first test,\u201d Walter continued. \u201cWe\u2019re certainly not looking to manage anyone for game one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no secrets for me in the fact that No 8 needs to be an allrounder who can bat. Nathan has been that guy prior to getting injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he\u2019s fully fit and firing, he owns that spot for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only real absence, then, is Jacob Duffy – the reigning Sir Richard Hadlee medallist – who is missing the tour for the birth of his first child. <\/p>\n

In the spinners\u2019 ranks, the Black Caps have also welcomed back Mitchell Santner earlier than expected from a shoulder injury. <\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s white-ball captain returns to the squad at the expense of Dean Foxcroft, who scored 98 on debut last week, and will compete with Glenn Phillips for the No 7 spot.<\/p>\n

Phillips is yet to travel to England, after being involved in the Gujarat Titans\u2019 run in the Indian Premier League, where they finished runner-up to Duffy\u2019s Royal Challengers Bangalore<\/a> on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\"AjazAjaz Patel and Glenn Phillips leave the field during the third cricket Test between New Zealand and West Indies at Bay Oval in Mt Maunganui last December. Photo \/ Photosport <\/p>\n

Based on incumbency, Phillips arguably has his nose in front, but will arrive at Lord\u2019s having not played a red ball game since the Black Caps\u2019 win over the West Indies at Bay Oval in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s landing at 6am tomorrow morning, he\u2019s already messaged me to say he\u2019ll be at training, that\u2019s typical GP – he\u2019ll probably be bowling balls down the hallway of the plane,\u201d Walter joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be here, ready and straight into it, no doubt. There\u2019s no injury issues or anything like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been training and been part of competitive cricket, we\u2019ve got three full days\u2019 lead into the first test. There\u2019s no issues on my part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black Caps predicted side for first England test: 1. Tom Latham (c), 2. Devon Conway, 3. Kane Williamson, 4. Rachin Ravindra, 5. Daryl Mitchell, 6. Tom Blundell (wk), 7. Glenn Phillips, 8. Nathan Smith, 9. Kyle Jamieson, 10. Matt Henry, 11. Will O\u2019Rourke<\/p>\n

Alex Powell<\/a> is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That, then, leaves the Black Caps\u2019 pace bowling stocks in frighteningly good health. Worryingly for opposition batters, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9092,806,1975,89,7022,110080,42574,10709,143305,1634,1888,231282,28419,123077,6209,218684,30506,117,111,43,139,69,1523,13310,765,165,1961,61,31866,4518,102,80],"class_list":["post-454605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-against","tag-as","tag-at","tag-attack","tag-black","tag-bowling","tag-caps","tag-concerns","tag-eased","tag-england","tag-first","tag-firstchoice","tag-fit","tag-fullstrength","tag-henry","tag-lords","tag-matt","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-over","tag-poised","tag-test","tag-their","tag-this","tag-to","tag-unleash","tag-weeks","tag-with","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}