New Zealand announced their squads for the upcoming Test series against England and Ireland on Wednesday, May 6. The former captain Kane Williamson and fast bowlers Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke returned to the setup led by Tom Latham.

Williamson, 35, last played international cricket in December last year, having suffered from injury and fitness issues in the last two years. He is currently working as a strategic advisor for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2026.

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old right-arm pacer Kristian Clarke is in contention for his maiden Test cap as he gets a nod in the squad for the Ireland Test. Batting all-rounder Dean Foxcroft has also earned a maiden Test call-up after an impressive show in the white-ball series against Bangladesh.

However, five Kiwi players, Matt Henry, Zak Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Rachin Ravindra, and Glenn Phillips, will join the squad after finishing their stint in the IPL 2026. All players are expected to miss the Ireland Test, but are likely to feature heavily against England. Ben Sears is included as a traveling reserve for both squads and might play a role in the Belfast Test.

New Zealand will face Ireland in a one-off Test starting on May 27 in Belfast and then travel to England for the three-match Test series starting on June 4. In today's cricket news, Jacob Duffy is left out of the 19-member squad as he prepares for the birth of his first child next month.

New Zealand Test squad

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

Kane Williamson eyes major Test record

Kane Williamson last played a Test cricket during the West Indies tour of New Zealand in December last year. He remains the top-ranked Kiwi batter in the ICC Test rankings, placed fifth behind Joe Root, Harry Brook, Travis Head, and Steve Smith.

Williamson is part of both the Ireland and England Test squads and is in contention to record a huge milestone in Test cricket next month. He has scored 9461 runs in 108 Tests at a stunning average of 54.68 with the help of 33 centuries and 38 fifties. He is only 539 runs away from becoming the first Kiwi player to score 10,000 Test runs.