New Zealand warm up for their three-Test series in England with a one-off Test against Ireland at Stormont, which gets underway on Wednesday.
These two teams have never previously met in this format and it will be Ireland’s first home Test in almost two years.
Ireland v New Zealand Tips Summary
Best Bet - New Zealand highest opening match partnership @ 8/13
Alternative Bet - Nathan Smith top match bowler @ 11/2
Bet Builder - New Zealand to win, Harry Tector top Ireland first innings batter & Craig Young to take a wicket @ 13/2
Ireland v New Zealand Prediction
Best Bet: New Zealand highest opening match partnership @ 8/13
Ireland are suffering with a number of injury absences for this Test, but perhaps most damaging is the absence of batter Paul Stirling, who is crucial to their success in all formats.
That means Cade Carmichael will need a new opening partner for this clash and as a result it should pay to side with New Zealand to record the highest opening match partnership.
Likely Black Caps openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway should be a cut above whoever the hosts can field. Latham made 427 runs in three games in 2025 at an average of 71.16, while Conway averaged 87.12 in five Tests last year.
Alternative Bet: Nathan Smith top match bowler @ 11/2
The big headline for the Black Caps for this series is the long-awaited returns from injury of Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke to bolster their pace attack.
The pair are very fine bowlers, but having just returned from injury their overs are likely to be limited and they are worth taking on as top match bowlers as a result.
Nathan Smith has been impressive over the last year, averaging 19.66 with the ball, and he took nine wickets in two first-class games for Wellington in March, so is in good nick.
Ireland v New Zealand Bet Builder Tip
New Zealand to win
Harry Tector top Ireland first innings batter
Craig Young to take a wicket
Pays 13/2
New Zealand have dominated the meetings between these two teams and considering the strength of their side, it's hard not to see a repeat of that in this Test.
Harry Tector will be crucial to Ireland's hopes in this game from number three and he has previous against the Kiwis, making a century against these opponents in a 2022 ODI. He could be the hosts' top first-innings batter.
Seamer Craig Young has been the model of consistency for Ireland with the ball, with eight wickets in four Tests and he is fancied for at least one here.
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Key Match Stats
New Zealand have won nine of the 10 head-to-heads across all formats
The Black Caps are unbeaten in their last six Test matches, winning five
Ireland have lost nine of their last 12 Test matches
Kane Williamson is 539 runs away from becoming the first New Zealander to make 10,000 Test runs
Rachin Ravindra averaged 117.25 in Tests in 2025
This is Ireland's first home Test since 2024
Tactics, Form and Team News
Ireland are missing a number of key men for this clash, with Paul Stirling, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little, Jordan Neill and Gavin Hoey all absent through injury. Jake Egan and Liam McCarthy could make their Test debuts.
Ireland expected XI: 1 Jake Egan, 2 Cade Carmichael, 3 Harry Tector, 4 Curtis Campher, 5 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 6 Andrew Balbirnie (c), 7 Andy McBrine, 8 Matthew Humphreys, 9 Liam McCarthy, 10 Mark Adair, 11 Craig Young.
Will O'Rourke and Kyle Jamieson return from injury and should feature in this one, while Kane Williamson could also come back into the fold.
Dean Foxcroft could make his debut, but Jacob Duffy misses out due to IPL duty and the impending birth of his first child.
New Zealand expected XI: 1 Tom Latham (c), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Dean Foxcroft, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Tom Blundell (wk), 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Kyle Jamieson, 11 Will O'Rourke.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
