Ireland vs New Zealand, Only Test, New Zealand tour of Ireland, 2026 - Player HighlightsIRE vs NZ, Only Test, New Zealand tour of Ireland, 2026 - Player Highlights

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, no run, nicely bowled and equally well played! A back of a length delivery on off, takes off and seams away, McCarthy keeps his bat inside the line to evade it

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, byes, 1 run, Adair backs away again and tries to cut the short of length delivery but misses. Tom Blundell leaps to his left but can't stop it cleanly. A bye results

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, FOUR, fuller length delivery swinging in on off, Adair backs away a bit and drives it nicely through cover-point. Struck that one nicely

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no ball, another short delivery on off, Adair sits under it. It swings away late towards the keeper. Nathan Smith has overstepped again

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no run, Adair backs away and is followed by a shortish delivery. A half-hearted attempt at the cut square of the wicket and he misses

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no run, a well-directed bouncer around off, Adair ducks under it

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, 2 runs, Adair clears his front leg to the fullish delivery and mishits it over mid-on. The fielder chases it and keeps the batters down to a couple

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no ball, good length delivery angling in from outside off, Adair swings and misses. Nathan Smith has overstepped

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, no run, a bouncer on off, McCarthy ducks under it

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, no run, pitched up around off, McCarthy shuffles a bit and eases it to the left of Nathan Smith who gets low to stop it

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, no run, fullish delivery swinging in on off, McCarthy pushes it to the right of Nathan Smith who dives to his right on his followthrough to make a good stop

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, no run, hard length delivery just outside off, seaming away, McCarthy keeps his bat inside the line to let it through

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, FOUR, McCarthy is showing that he can bat! Slightly overpitched outside off from round the wicket, McCarthy prods towards it and drives it with good timing through covers. It has enough on it to roll through to the fence

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, 1 run, short of length outside off, Adair tries to punch it through covers but gets an inside edge past his leg stump towards fine leg. He could have easily chopped that onto his stumps

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no run, short of length around off, Adair hangs back and punches it towards point. Liam McCarthy wants the single but Adair rightly sends him back

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no ball, another bouncer but it's down leg and too high. It's the third bouncer of the over so it's called a no ball by the umpire

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no run, another bouncer and this time it angles in on middle, Adair ducks under it. The umpire calls it the second bouncer of the over

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, 2 runs, short of length delivery angling in on off, Adair tucks it through mid-wicket. Some good running between the wickets allows the batters to come back for the second run

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, 2 runs, short of length outside off, Adair camps back and punches it through cover-point for a couple

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, 1 run, back of a length in the channel, McCarthy fends at it and gets it off the inner half through backward square leg

Nathan Smith to Liam McCarthy, wide, oh, this one lifts off the deck from a short of length outside off. Tom Blundell has to leap to stop it. Wided for height

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, out Caught by Daryl Mitchell!! 8th wicket for Nathan Smith in this Test! The short delivery has done the trick again. It's a sharp one as well around off and it keeps climbing on Tucker. He had made up his mind to go for the hook across the line but gets rushed on and a top-edge is induced. Mitchell from first slip runs back, keeps his eyes on the ball and gets low to take a well-judged catch. Lorcan Tucker c Daryl Mitchell b Nathan Smith 50(70) [4s-8 6s-1]

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no run, a short delivery angling in on off, Adair ducks under it

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no run, short of length on off, Adair covers the line and blocks it solidly

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, no run, back of a length delivery outside off, Adair hangs back and pushes it to cover-point

Nathan Smith to Mark Adair, FOUR, gorgeous! A half-volley well outside off, Adair reaches out and creams the drive through extra cover. Good timing on this one

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, 1 run, good length delivery angling in on off, Tucker tucks it through mid-wicket. The batters search for the second run but decide against it

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, a bouncer angling towards leg-stump, Tucker ducks under it awkwardly

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, bouncer outside off, Tucker looks to pull and gets beaten by the extra bounce

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, back of a length on off, Tucker taps it into the off-side

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, on a length around off, Tucker blocks with soft hands

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, full delivery shaping in late outside off, Tucker seeks to drive and gets beaten on the inside-edge

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, length delivery on off, Tucker gets across and defends it back to the bowler

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, good length on off, Tucker with a solid block into the leg-side

Nathan Smith to Andy McBrine, no run, short of length just outside off, McBrine hops across and defends it into the leg-side

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, 1 run, Nathan Smith goes short once again, Tucker controls the pull to the left of deep backward square

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, FOUR, swivels and pulls the short ball with lovely timing, the fielder at deep square dives across to his right, but ball wins the race

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, good length on off, Tucker looks to block off the front foot and gets beaten on the inside-edge. Hit him high on the back pad

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, FOUR, was that deliberate? Tucker got forward and pushed at it with a slightly open face, allowing the ball to steer through the gap between slip cordon and gully

Nathan Smith to Lorcan Tucker, no run, short of length on off, Tucker hops and defends it into the off-side

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, third successive maiden. Smith gets the ball to rise sharply in the outside off channel, Doheny plays inside the line and lets it go

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, good length on off, Doheny blocks it off the back foot

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, in the teasing channel outside off stump, Doheny lifts his bat and lets it go

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, good length keeps a fraction low just outside off, Doheny nudges it with soft hands into the leg-side

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, sharp bumper on the stumps, Doheny allows the ball to come to him and fends it off the splice near his feet

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, lifter angling down leg, Doheny half-ducks and lets it go

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, good length delivery outside off, shoots off the deck, Doheny lets it through. Four maidens in a row for Nathan Smith, brilliant consistency from him

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, Nathan Smith goes wider of the crease and swings in a full delivery from outside off, Doheny pushes at it tentatively and gets it off the inner half towards mid-wicket

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, fullish delivery around off, swinging away, Doheny leans ahead a bit and eases it towards covers

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, short of length delivery seaming in from outside off, Doheny lifts his bat skywards to allow it through

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, back of a length around off, pushed from the crease towards point

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, short of length on off, Doheny rises with the bounce and defends it towards covers

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, out Caught by Daryl Mitchell!! Edged and gone! Nathan Smith gets the breakthrough once again! A back of a length delivery seaming in from outside off, a bit of extra bounce on this one, Thomas Mayes tries to punch with minimal foot movement and gets a thick outside edge. Mitchell at first slip dives to his right and takes it in front of him. It was dying on him but he did well to get his hands underneath it. Thomas Mayes c Daryl Mitchell b Nathan Smith 5(25) [4s-1]

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, tentative! Fullish delivery outside off, Mayes tries to drive with minimal foot movement but gets an inside-edge onto his pads and then it rolls towards the keeper

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, this one seams in sharply from a back of a length outside off with some extra bounce. Mayes is undone by the sharp movement and gets struck on the thigh pad

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, back of a length on off, shaping away a touch, Mayes hangs back and defends it towards point

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, good length delivery seaming in on off, Mayes tries to work it across but is early into the stroke. Gets a soft leading edge down the track

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, short of length on off, Mayes camps back and punches it towards point

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, back of a length outside off, holding its line, Mayes lets it go

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, a play and a miss! A bouncer on off, Mayes goes for a half-hearted pull shot and gets beaten on the top-edge

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, a wild short delivery down leg, Tom Blundell moves to his left and leaps to stop it nicely with his left glove

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, fullish delivery swinging in on off, Mayes covers the line and blocks it down the track

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, length delivery moving in from outside off, Mayes covers his off-stump to allow it through

Nathan Smith to Thomas Mayes, no run, short of length outside off, seaming away, Thomas Mayes keeps his bat inside the line to let it through

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, fullish delivery around off, Doheny leans ahead a bit and taps it with an open bat-face to backward point. Good start from Smith, a maiden

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, full delivery shaping in on off, Doheny flicks it to mid-wicket

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, short of length outside off, shaping away, Stephen Doheny shoulders his arms to it

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, beaten! Pitched up outside off, some nibble in the air, Stephen Doheny goes for an expansive drive down the ground but misses

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, fullish delivery shaping in a bit from outside off this time, Doheny lifts his bat skywards and makes an assured leave

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, full delivery outside off, swinging away, Doheny keeps his bat inside the line and lets it through

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, no run, once again from wide of the crease, but the length is much shorter - allowing Balbirnie to get behind the line and defend into the off-side

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, no run, lovely bowling this from Nathan Smith. Goes wide of the crease and angles it in on a length, Balbirnie hangs his bat out to dry and gets beaten on the outside-edge

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, no run, full and challenging the off stump channel, Balbirnie blocks it under his eyes

Nathan Smith to Doheny, 1 run, pulls the length back and darts it around leg stump, Doheny gets an inside-edge onto pad that rolls wide of square leg

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, pitched up outside off, Doheny drives and finds the fielder at cover

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, full ball swings in late outside off, Doheny shoulders arms

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, skiddy length delivery that curls in late and whispers past the off stump. Doheny, though, left it on length

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, full on off stump, Doheny drives with a closed bat face to mid-on

Nathan Smith to Doheny, 2 runs, pitched up outside off, Doheny opens the bat face and eases the drive to the left of the man at cover

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, good length on off, Doheny with a solid forward block into the off-side

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Balbirnie gets across and tucks it wide of mid-wicket

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, no run, full ball on off, Balbirnie flicks and picks out the man at mid-wicket

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, no run, a chirpy appeal for lbw turned down! A back of a length delivery seaming sharply towards leg-stump. Balbirnie hangs back to keep it out but gets beaten on the inside edge to get rapped on the pads. It was too high and also sliding down leg

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, no run, back of a length delivery on the sixth stump channel, Balbirnie shoulders arms to it

Nathan Smith to Balbirnie, no run, short of length delivery shaping in on middle and leg, keeps a bit low, Balbirnie blocks it towards covers

Nathan Smith to Doheny, 3 runs, length delivery around off, Doheny works it nicely through mid-wicket. The fielder from mid-on gives it a long hard chase and saves a run for his side

Nathan Smith to Doheny, FOUR, the runs are flowing for Ireland! Shortish and some room on offer, Stephen Doheny slashes it uppishly past the right side of gully to pick up back-to- back boundaries

Nathan Smith to Doheny, FOUR, just wide of gully! On a length on off, straightens after pitching, Doheny is squared up in his stance. He pushes at it and gets an outside edge past the left side of gully

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, short of length outside off, Doheny moves his bat inside the line to allow it through

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, length delivery outside off, swinging away, Doheny doesn't fiddle with it

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, beauty! Pitched up outside off, swinging away appreciably, Stephen Doheny has a feel for it and gets beaten on the outside edge

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, back of a length on off, shaping away a touch, Doheny hangs back and blocks it towards point

Nathan Smith to Doheny, no run, short of length outside off, moving away a bit, Doheny lets it through

Nathan Smith to Doheny, FOUR, Doheny avoids a pair! Fractionally overpitched outside off, Stephen Doheny leans ahead and creams the drive through extra cover to get off the mark in style