Matt Henry is set to lead a full-strength New Zealand pace attack in the first Test against England at Lord’s from Thursday after recovering from injury.
Henry missed Ireland’s innings thrashing last week in a one-off Test in Belfast with what team management said was “a minor left hamstring strain” but is now fit for the first of a three-Test series against England.
Teammates Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke have also been given the nod, but Henry’s return is the biggest boost for the Black Caps.
Henry has an excellent overall Test record of 140 wickets at the age of 27.
But since the retirements of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, the 34-year-old has emerged as the leader of the attack with 85 wickets at a paltry average of 18.1 in his last 15 Tests.
“I think if you look at Henna’s record over the last three or four years, since he took the new ball, he’s been incredible for us,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham told reporters at Lord’s on Wednesday.
Henry has also played county cricket with Somerset and Derbyshire.
“His record speaks for itself but I think the experience he brings in New Zealand and also in these conditions, he’s played a lot here, county cricket, he’s played a lot of Test matches here as well,” Latham said.
“He’s been fantastic for us, he’s an attacking weapon, he’s got a lot of great skills and he leads the attack really well… It’s obviously been a while since he last played Test cricket in December so he’ll be very excited to get the ball back in his hand and obviously lead the attack again.”
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But Henry is far from the only potent member of the Black Caps’ pace attack.
“You’ve got Henry, Nathan Smith, who are able to move the ball in the air from the surface and then you’ve got the height of Jamieson, O’Rourke and (Blair) Tickner,” Latham said.
“Having them all available here for a really important series is fantastic. The Nets haven’t necessarily been that fun, but yeah, we’re looking forward to it being over tomorrow.”
Published on June 3, 2026
