Overview
- Cricket Ireland confirmed a 14-player squad led by Andrew Balbirnie that excludes several regulars because of injury and will be used for the one-off four-day Test at Stormont.
- Key absenteecies in the announced squad include Paul Stirling, Barry McCarthy, Jordan Neill, Gavin Hoey and Josh Little, forcing the selectors to reshuffle available options.
- Jake Egan, Tom Mayes, Liam McCarthy and Reuben Wilson are in the group and could make their Test debuts if picked in the final XI.
- The match is the first red-ball meeting between Ireland and New Zealand and forms part of New Zealand’s wider tour that was arranged with a pace-led group and World Test Championship priorities.
- Ireland must now finalise a playing XI under Balbirnie with selection choices likely to shape how well they exploit home conditions and how competitive they can be against New Zealand’s experienced touring players.