Will O’Rourke’s promising return the brightest spark of Black Caps’ low-key Bangladesh tour

Monday, 4 May 2026

ANALYSIS: New Zealand’s white-ball performances on tour of Bangladesh didn’t set things on fire, but there was one spark which promised brighter and bigger things.

Will O'Rourke wasn’t part of the T20 squad which defeated the hosts by six wickets on Saturday in Mirpur - resulting in a 1-1 tied series after the middle game was rained out.

But it appeared everything went to plan with his participation in the ODI series, which should have gained him a place in the squad for the test series in England.

The 24-year-old was making his first international appearance since suffering a back stress fracture during the first test versus Zimbabwe at the end of July last year.

He bowled 23 overs in three games of the 2-1 series defeat, taking five wickets, and looked at his sharpest in the final outing when taking 3-32 from seven overs, as his bounce and pace proved troublesome for the home side’s top order.

New Zealand will also play a four-day test against Ireland before the three-test series versus England, and coach Rob Walter will be wary of what bowling ‘loads’ O’Rourke will be able to manage on tour.

It’s possible the Black Caps will name an extended squad to cover the four tests, or name a separate squad to meet Ireland, particularly as the match will be contested while the Indian Premier League finals are played.

“Test cricket is the focal point of my game at the moment,” O’Rourke said at the end of March after his return to the national side.

“First of all, put a decent performance out in Bangladesh and hopefully push my name forward to England, and then the rest of the season hopefully takes care of itself.”

O’Rourke has an excellent test record from just 11 tests, taking 39 wickets at an average of 24.28, at a strike rate of 40.

That includes bowling just six overs in the second and third tests on spin-friendly pitches during the stunning 3-0 series clean sweep over India, after returning match figures of 7-114 in the first-test victory.

Very little of the rest of the white-ball games in Bangladesh bore any relevance to the upcoming tests, with most of the first-choice red-ball players involved elsewhere in T20 franchise leagues.

Nick Kelly and Dean Foxcroft did well with the bat in the ODI series, but there’s no free spots in the Black Caps test middle-order.

Captain Tom Latham - before a toe injury ensured he didn’t play in the shortest format - and fellow top-order batter Will Young had poor returns, but both will be in the test group.

Matt Fisher, who made his test debut in Zimbabwe before a shin injury sidelined him over summer, displayed the pace which will make him a contender for the test squad.

Ben Sears impressed in the Pakistan Super League and again in Saturday’s finale with NZ, while seamer Nathan Smith likely neither harmed nor greatly improved his prospects of being a test starter.

There were some signs of red-ball promise in the NZ A tour of Sri Lanka during the two four-day 'tests'.

Tim Robinson made a ton in his only bat, while young opener Curtis Heaphy - with 221 runs at 73.66 and a Strike Rate of 43.84 - again showed he has the ability and fortitude to bat for long periods.

Left-am spinner Tim Pringle, who has played 22 T20Is and four ODIs for the Netherlands, took eight wickets at 35.25.

The Black Caps will be without left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Mitchell Santner for at least two tests after he suffered a grade three AC shoulder injury while fielding in the Indian Premier League for his Mumbai Indians side.

The test against Ireland will be played at Stormont in Belfast from May 27-30, with the three tests against England to be played at Lord’s (June 4-8), The Oval (June 17-21) and Trent Bridge (June 25-29) respectively.

Short scoreboard

Third T20I, Mirpur: Bangladesh 102 in 14.2 overs (Towhid Hridoy 33 from 24; Josh Clarkson 3-9 from 2, Ben Sears 2-12 from 2.2, Nathan Smith 2-14 from 2) lost to New Zealand 104-4 in 11.4 overs (Bevon Jacobs 62* from 31; Shoriful Islam 3-19 from 3) by six wickets. Full scoreboard