Black Caps poised to launch pace attack against England in first test at Lord’s

Tuesday, 2 June 2026

What: Black Caps v England, first test. Where: Lord’s, London. When: 10pm Thursday (day one of five), Sky Sport 1.

ANALYSIS: The Black Caps have the ideal opportunity to turn recent history around and take the attack to Brendon McCullum.

On Monday, coach Rob Walter said leading pace bowler Matt Henry will be fit to play in the first test of the three-match series against England starting at Lord’s on Thursday night (NZ time).

That means the visitors are poised to launch an all-out pace attack against coach McCullum’s charges, with Will O’Rourke and Kyle Jamieson both set to resume their test careers following lengthy injury recoveries.

“He’s all good,” Walter said of Henry, who missed the one-off test against Ireland with a low-grade hamstring injury.

“He bowled today while we were travelling, being in London already. All things point to being 100% fit and ready.

“We’ve got every intention of having all our fast bowlers fit, firing and ready for the first test. We’re certainly not looking to manage anyone for game one.”

Read More:

• Seamer sets record after Black Caps debutant falls agonisingly short of century

• One from 19: How to conquer Lord’s and why the Black Caps struggle so much there

• Where are they now? Why Tony Blain had to borrow shoes for his Black Caps debut

• The forgotten Black Caps test allrounder and their plans to fight fire with fire

With the in-form Nathan Smith as the fourth seamer, New Zealand will look to attack an under-pressure England side in an attempt to change recent history.

Since ex-New Zealand captain McCullum became England’s test coach in 2022, his charges have dominated his former side. In eight tests between the two teams, New Zealand have been on the losing side on six occasions.

The two victories have been notable for the circumstances - at the Basin Reserve in February 2023, the home side looked on track for their fifth consecutive defeat to England, but Kane Williamson’s second-innings ton after following on led a comeback which resulted in a spine-tingling one-run victory.

The only other win during McCullum’s reign came in a ‘dead rubber’ in Hamilton at the end of 2024, when McCullum’s troops appeared to have their minds anywhere but Seddon Park after winning the first two games of the three-test series, resulting in the hosts triumphing by an astronomical 423 runs.

England’s collection of wins began in McCullum’s first test in charge, at the beginning of a three-game series in England. Thanks mostly to the batting of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, the visitors had chances to win each match, but England grew in confidence under McCullum’s guidance. By the time England had completed a 3-0 sweep, ‘Bazball’ was the new sensation as Joe Root was reverse-lapping pace bowlers for six and Jonny Bairstow was smashing boundaries at warp speed.

How England’s batters now approached test cricket - unburdened by fear of failure and bolstered by their method of success - seemed to unsettle the Black Caps, who couldn’t find the right method to combat their rivals.

The home series loss in late 2024 was particularly galling for a New Zealand team fresh from a history-making 3-0 sweep of India in India.

But the good times have been less prevalent for McCullum and his men of late, after a shellacking by Australia in the Ashes last summer.

Former England test captain and current cricket writer for The Times, Mike Atherton, wrote this week that McCullum faces a different task to when he first came into his role four years ago.

Atherton wrote: “Is he a one-trick pony? A turnaround guy who walks into a stale dressing room, sprays his particular brand of charm, charisma and goodwill around and watches the atmosphere change, miraculously, overnight. Or can he be the long-term guy who drives a dressing room forward with hard work, commitment and rigour, improving cricketers along the way? Is it possible to be both, especially in an unrelenting schedule with so many conflicting challenges and priorities? We shall see.”

While New Zealand have been bolstered by the unexpected return of white-ball captain Mitchell Santner, Walter said Glenn Phillips would be available for selection for the first test after finishing his Indian Premier League season on Monday morning.

“He’s landing at 6am tomorrow morning, he’s already messaged me to say he’ll be at training, that’s typical GP - he’ll probably be bowling balls down the hallway of the plane,” Walter said.

“He’ll be here, ready and straight into it, no doubt. There’s no injury issues or anything like that. He’s been training and been part of competitive cricket, we’ve got three full days’ lead into the first test. There’s no issues on my part.”

Likely Black Caps side for first test

Tom Latham (capt), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.