Black Caps allrounder Nathan Smith, and how they fight fire with fire in test series in England

Sunday, 17 May 2026

On a chilly autumn morning at Lincoln, just outside Christchurch, Nathan Smith liberally applies the protective padding, fastens the black helmet and braces for the barrage.

Spread across 90 minutes with lunch in between, Smith’s fellow Black Caps fast bowlers work him over, in a taste of what the allrounder might expect when he pads up at No 8 in next month’s three-test series in England.

“I’m just about to face a bumper plan, 45 minutes from Will O’Rourke so that’ll be good fun,” Smith tells the Star-Times over the phone. “I’ve just faced 45 minutes from a few of the other boys, Ben Sears, Michael Rae and Matt Fisher… it’s exciting…”

Some might use a different adjective, at the thought of ducking and diving a leather projectile flung by the country’s fastest bowlers at 150kph. Terrifying springs to mind.

It’s also a statement on the strength of New Zealand’s pace bowling stocks when everyone is fit, as they eye a shootout with England who are missing the likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse for the first test at Lord’s on June 4. Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and the recalled Ollie Robinson look their likely pace frontline.

New Zealand potentially have the edge with a four-pronged pace attack of Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke, Kyle Jamieson and Smith, who will be the bowling allrounder behind wicketkeeper Tom Blundell and the offspinner - either Glenn Phillips or Dean Foxcroft.

Henry and Jamieson are at the Indian Premier League and will be late arrivals in England, as will Zak Foulkes. At the Lincoln camp are Smith, O’Rourke, Sears, Rae, Fisher (who’s not in the 19-man test squad for Ireland and England), Blair Tickner and Kristian Clarke.

Said Smith: “It’s amazing. You look around and there’s seven bowlers there, all who have played for New Zealand. The fact you’ve got that much depth with the guys at the IPL as well.

“Everyone’s proving a challenge to face. It’s an awesome time to be a bowler in New Zealand, you bring each other up, you challenge each other, it makes the training a lot more intense.”

Returning from a long layoff due to back surgery, the towering figure of O’Rourke is turning heads. He has 39 wickets at an average of 24 from his first 11 tests, and hasn’t had the chance to boost that tally since Zimbabwe last August.

With the pads on, Smith saw first hand how well O’Rourke had returned with the red ball.

“I remember that spell he bowled at Seddon Park (against England in 2024), it was a 10-over spell, he got (Joe) Root and (Harry) Brook out pretty quickly and it was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen.

“He just kept getting quicker, consistently over 150kph… hopefully he can tap into that over in England when we need him, when it gets a bit flat.”

At 27, Smith has a spring in his step and feels ready to show his best in a massive year of nine tests against England, India and Australia after some false starts.

The Oamaru product has just four tests to his name after an eyecatching debut in that 2024 home series when he snared Jacob Bethell and England great Root in the space of three magical deliveries in Christchurch.

His most recent two tests ended on the physio’s table - an abdominal strain in Zimbabwe last August then a side strain during the first West Indies test in Christchurch in December.

The 2025-26 first-class season ended well for Smith, with an extended stint with Wellington Firebirds leaving him ready to launch back into test cricket. A constant wicket-taking threat with his brisk outswing in the mid to high 130kph range, Smith ended with 13 first-class wickets at 24, and with the bat averaged a healthy 44 in seven innings.

Much like Henry, the leader of the test attack, Smith can summon happy memories of success in England with the Dukes ball which can behave a lot differently to the familiar Kookaburra.

For Worcestershire in 2024 Smith took 27 wickets at 21 in the County Championship, then last year in a shorter stint with Surrey took 14 wickets at 28.

England are in a rebuilding mode after their Ashes humbling in Australia, dropping struggling batsmen Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope and summoning in-form county players Emilio Gay and James Rew alongside their big guns Root and Harry Brook.

“It’s a pretty even matchup. When they came over here they were in red-hot form, and they’re so destructive with the bat. They come hard all the time although they’re under a bit of scrutiny now and they might change a little bit of the way they play after that Ashes series,” Smith said.

“There’s talent all the way through that order and they’ve got firepower in their bowling… they’re very skillful in their own conditions as well. Top to bottom they stack up pretty well but we’ve got a pretty good side as well.”

Teaming up again with the coach who gave Smith his big break when still at Waitaki Boys’ High School - Rob Walter - is another highlight, nearly a year since the South African was appointed as Gary Stead’s successor.

“It’s awesome to come full circle with him. I was 18 when I met him, in my last year of school when he moved to Otago and I was really lucky. He gave me a lot of opportunities when I was young, especially with the bat. A couple of one-day games I went up to No 4 when Hamish Rutherford was on NZA duty. He really backed me which ultimately gave me a lot of confidence.

“His messaging has stayed the same since he came into the Black Caps and he still really backs me with the bat, it’s part of my game he really wants to see improve. He wants to see me push on as much as possible and become a world-class allrounder.”

The New Zealand-based players fly out on Friday, with the four-day test against Ireland starting on May 27.

Black Caps test squad

Tom Latham (capt), Tom Blundell, Kristian Clarke (Ireland only), Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae (Ireland only), Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears (Ireland only, 16th travelling reserve for England), Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young (Ireland only).

Schedule

May 27-30: Test v Ireland at Stormont, Belfast

June 4-8: 1st test v England at Lord’s, London

June 17-21: 2nd test v England at The Oval, London

June 25-29: 3rd test v England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham